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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29133831">Young Hearts</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/KGBKBG/pseuds/KGBKBG'>KGBKBG</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Love Triangles, Mother-Son Relationship, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:55:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>80,388</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29133831</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/KGBKBG/pseuds/KGBKBG</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"'Robby! What did you do?'</p><p>He replayed her voice and face over and over again in his mind. Then the crack. It was too much, and he had to run away. There would be no forgiveness after this mistake. Robby was on his own."</p><p>Dives into the minds and love triangle of Sam/Robby/Miguel, with an emphasis on Robby's feelings, following season 2. I'm drawing from bits of season 3, but the turn out of events is different and will eventually lead into what I think season 4 will be like. Endgame = Sam/Robby</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Miguel Diaz/Samantha LaRusso, Miguel Diaz/Tory Nichols, Robby Keene/Samantha LaRusso</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>248</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>124</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I haven’t written a Karate Kid/Cobra Kai fanfiction before, even though I’ve been obsessed with the Karate Kid for as long as I could remember. But I needed to write this after watching season 3 because I still have unresolved feelings regarding the characters’ relationships — particularly with the whole Robbie-Sam-Miguel love triangle. I still loved season 3, but my love triangle needs were left unsatisfied.</p><p>That being said, this will have some season 3 spoilers. Some scenes may appear to be drawn directly from the series, but I added in my own elements and character internal thoughts to change the mood. I do not own the Karate Kid or Cobra Kai, however I would love to have input in their writing rooms.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sam laid in the hospital bed with her arm wrapped up and broken ribs braced, making her appear more broken than ever. Her outer appearance was nothing compared to how mangled she felt on the inside, however. She stared off somewhere toward the windows and grey wall with a soft focus, while her thoughts wrestled back and forth with each other. </p>
<p>She couldn't distract herself with the TV that was on or with her books that her mom had brought the other day. All she could focus on was how terrible she felt about everything that happened over the course of the last three weeks. Her drunken kiss with Miguel at the party; the way she betrayed Robby and he still took the blame for her; when she lied to him and he found out at school the next day; and finally, how all of those actions led to the massive brawl that put Miguel into his comatose state and made Robby a criminal. </p>
<p>Sam wished that she could undo each event as if it never happened. She couldn’t envision any way for the current state to go back to normal for anyone. Miguel, if he lives, will at the very least be paralyzed, she was sure of it. And Robby, he has to live with the consequences of his actions, not to mention the emotional turmoil she can imagine he must be feeling. She can’t help but worry about both of them. She sent Robby several emails hoping that he could respond with even one word to let her know that he is okay. Everyday she asks her dad how Miguel is doing and he always responds the same way: “He’s going to be alright, Sam. Stop worrying about him, I just want you to focus on getting better for now.”</p>
<p>She shook her head away from her trance with frustration. Both of her parents keep telling her that none of this is her fault, but when she replays each event that led to the situation everyone is in now, she can only see a trail of her mistakes. </p>
<p>There was a knock at the door that made her jump a bit. “Hey kid, how do you feel today?” Her dad asked as he came through the door holding a stack of Bananarama pancakes — there’s been a lot of those lately.</p>
<p>“I’m fine,” she responded simply.</p>
<p>Daniel placed the container with pancakes and syrup next to her bed on the side table. “Your arm looks better, I think that Mr. Miyagi’s magic-healing-serum is doing its trick,” he smiled and sat on the bed next to her. </p>
<p>She stared blankly at the wall in front of her, unmoving.</p>
<p>“Come on Sam, what’s going on, you can talk to me about how you’re feeling. It’s just you and me,” he placed his hand gently on her hand.</p>
<p>Sam looked to her dad’s face and felt her guard start to falter. All of a sudden tears sprang to her eyes and she had trouble stopping the flow of tears that overflowed down her face.</p>
<p>“Oh Sam, honey,” Daniel moved to comfort her in a hug bringing her head to his chest and rubbing her back. “Shh, it’s okay, you’re alright Sam. I’ve got you.”</p>
<p>She cried into his chest unable to console herself in order to explain why this surge of emotions happened. Once she got her bearings, she began to sniffle and looked up at her dad with puffy eyes and matted hair. “I just,” she started with a broken voice. “I just feel so responsible for everything, and I know you and mom keep saying that it isn’t my fault but, I just feel so guilty.” She wiped her eyes and sat up on the bed to look back at the grey wall where her emotions for some reason didn’t feel so strong. “And I just hate everything. I can’t help but worry about Miguel and what is going to happen to him. And then Robby,” she took a deep breath in, “I don’t know where he is, or what he must be feeling. I’m so frustrated dad.”</p>
<p>Daniel looked down at his daughter and his heart broke. The majority of his concerns since he got the news about the school brawl have been for Sam and her well-being. He needed to know she would be safe and healed as soon as possible, but he hadn’t considered how scared she would be emotionally coming out of this. “Sam, I…” he started, lost for words.</p>
<p>“It’s okay, dad. Just if you hear any news about Miguel or Robby or anyone, can you let me know?”</p>
<p>“Look, I know that you care about them, and I love how much you care about people, but you can’t worry about everyone, honey. There’s too much going on right now to put it all on yourself. Just focus on getting better and I promise everything will be okay.”</p>
<p>She gave him a weak smile and hoped that it would be convincing. </p>
<p>“Now, here, I brought you your favorite breakfast. Can you please try to eat a few bites? I will see if I can find out what I can about Miguel’s status in the meantime.” Daniel brought the tray of pancakes in front of her and prayed that she would eat more than the last time. Truthfully, Daniel was worried about Miguel and Robby too. Even though his last interaction with Robby wasn’t great, he still loved the kid like a son, and he was worried that all the progress Robby made to get his life back on track would come crashing down with this incident. He couldn’t even imagine what would happen if Miguel didn’t make it through. </p>
<p>He felt terrible for what Miguel’s family must be going through. If that was Sam laying there in that state he would be beside himself. </p>
<p>Daniel gave Sam a kiss on the forehead and got up to take a trip to the ICU. </p>
<p>——————————————————————————————————————————-</p>
<p>Robby was out of breath and exhausted. He didn’t know where he was going, but somehow his body knew the drill and went through the motions to get him out of a bad situation. Once he saw Miguel flip over the banister, he could visualize the dream life that he was living in — a beautiful home, a stable family, an incredible girlfriend, and a bright future — all come crashing down before him. </p>
<p>Sam’s voice after she looked up to see Miguel flying-off the second floor ripped through him. </p>
<p>“Robby! What did you do?”</p>
<p>He replayed her voice and face over and over again in his mind. Then the crack. It was too much, and he had to run away. There would be no forgiveness after this mistake. Robby was on his own.</p>
<p>He ran to the LaRusso trade-in lot and looked for the 1993 Dodge Caravan that he remembered taking inventory of a month ago. Once he found it, he punched in the code and took off without looking back. </p>
<p>Driving felt somewhat soothing to him. He hadn’t cried yet; he barely allowed himself to think about the events that just played out in his life. Yet, watching the road ahead of him and passing by people on the street who looked at him like any typical civilian was reassuring. They didn’t know what he did. They didn’t know who he was and how he just screwed up his life. Maybe he could forget too.</p>
<p>Suddenly, he remembered that the LaRusso’s track all of the trade-in’s and he began to panic. If they found out he stole one of their cars they would think he’s a criminal. You are a criminal, he remembered. Either way he had to get rid of it. He reached into the center console where the GPS was plugged in and ripped it out. </p>
<p>Now what, he thought. He looked up ahead and saw a large pile of trash on the side of the road. Robby pulled over onto a side street and ran across the street to throw the GPS into the garbage. He didn’t pay attention to whether it made it in or not.</p>
<p>He got back into the car and sped off down the street. For the first time, Robby took a minute to think. Where was he going now? He had nowhere to go. His dad probably doesn’t want anything to do with him, he just kicked his substitute-son over a railing. His mom isn’t an option — she is still in rehab and probably would force him to turn himself in. Going to Mr. LaRusso isn’t an option either since their last interaction involved him yelling at him for messing up his daughter’s life, and this incident just proved him right even more. </p>
<p>Robby wrinkled his forehead and tried to not cry. He hasn’t cried in a long time, but right now he didn’t know how to feel and the amount of emotions were overwhelming. </p>
<p>He has been on his own most of his life, but there was always something to keep him going. For a long time it had been his mom. Even though she was a sucky parent, he knows that she loved him and tried to give him a good life for most of his childhood. When she stopped trying, he had her to take care of. But then he couldn't help her anymore. Then Sam came into his life. He knew that having her and Mr. LaRusso was really too good to be true. The whole family is on a completely different wavelength than he is. He should’ve listened to his dad and never got involved with their family. </p>
<p>Somehow Robby found himself outside of a convenience store he used to visit a lot when he was living with his mom. He didn’t have a lot of money on him except for $10 in his pocket, but hopefully that would give him at least some water and cereal to last two days. Then he could figure out how he was going to get more money or steal food if he had to be on the run for longer.</p>
<p>Robby pulled his hood up over his head and kept his head down on the walk through the store so that he could grab the stuff he needed and get going. Roaming through the aisles with his head down, he looked up when he heard his name coming from the TV.</p>
<p>“...the fight at the West Valley High School left student Miguel Diaz unconscious after being kicked over the second-floor railing by student, Robby Keene,” the anchor relayed in front of the high school, which was flooded by emergency vehicles. In the top right-hand corner of the screen was a cropped version of Robby’s All-Valley Tournament picture. </p>
<p>He winced at the photo and words coming from the small box on top of the shelf where everyone in the store was watching. He wasn’t safe here anymore. </p>
<p>Robby grabbed a box of Wheaties and a gallon of water then fled the store without paying. He couldn’t risk going up to the counter and letting the clerk get a close up of his face.</p>
<p>On his way out he could hear someone yelling after him, but didn’t give it much thought. So long as he drove away fast enough, he should be able to make a complete escape without facing the consequences. </p>
<p>Any emotion Robby felt before was once again washed away by his instincts taking over, forcing him to go through the motions of running away. If he was going to keep his cover, he would have to take some serious steps to make sure his identity wouldn’t be easily recognized.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Old Friendships, New Cuts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>THE DEAD SPEAK! (Miguel wakes). Sam takes a visit to see if Miguel is okay, meanwhile Robby considers a long term plan to make it through the situation he is in.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope everyone got my Star Wars reference lol </p><p>Thanks for everyone who reviewed and followed the story! I hope you keep reading and enjoying it because I have a lot of stuff planned. I got some questions about how it is different from season 3, and I'll say that the start of the story isn't too far of from the events of season 3 as I unpack everything, but I really wanted to write the characters' emotions in those quiet moments we don't see in the season. It will start to stray from the season 3 plot in the next chapter. </p><p> </p><p>That all being said, I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>——————————————————————————————————————————-</p><p>It had been about two weeks since the events of the fight and not much had changed since then. Sam was able to return home after spending a week in the hospital to make sure that her broken ribs wouldn't cause any further complications and that her concussion wasn’t too serious. However, at home, she didn’t feel much better. Luckily, she was able to use her homework to distract herself from worrying about the status of Robby and Miguel.</p><p>She was sitting on her bed reading from her history textbook when her mom knocked on her door. </p><p>“Hey honey, are you okay to take a break for a minute?” Amanda said from her place outside Sam’s room.</p><p>Sam closed her book and looked up at her mom’s serious face. “Yeah, what’s the matter? Is everything okay?”</p><p>Her mom’s sigh and slow walk to the edge of her bed didn’t make her feel any better. Her mind immediately flashed to the worst case scenario, thinking of Miguel’s mom having to say goodbye to her son or Robby doing something horrible to himself out of guilt.</p><p>“Your dad just called from the hospital, he was checking up on Miguel for you and said that he came out of his coma today,” Amanda said slowly.</p><p>Sam felt relief rush through her body — finally some good news. “That’s great! He’s okay then, right? This is good news,” she asked confused by the lack of smile or joy on her mom’s face.</p><p>Amanda looked down at the bed for a moment before meeting her daughter’s eyes again. “Yes, it’s good news so far, but he is still paralyzed in most of his body. Right now he is only starting to gain some movement through his hands and neck. Your dad talked to Miguel’s mom and she seems hopeful that he will be able to sit up by himself eventually, but he probably won’t walk again.”</p><p>Tears wet Sam’s eyes and she didn’t know what to say. She felt terrible for Miguel and his situation. It could have easily been her or Robby, Demetri, or even Tory in his place, but instead it happened to Miguel. She didn’t know why it had to be him. All he was trying to do was protect Sam and Tory from each other when Robby had the same idea. The year-long build of tension between both dojos finally released itself in this brawl that had a much more serious result than any of the kids were ready for.</p><p>“Do you think I could see him sometime soon?” She asked her mom.</p><p>Amanda smiled softly at her daughter, “I think he would really appreciate that. Your father and I have the afternoon free tomorrow, how about we take you with us and we can all go together?”</p><p>“Yeah, that would be great, thanks mom.” Sam felt a little relieved that she wouldn’t have to go alone to visit Miguel. She hadn’t talked to him since that night when they accidentally kissed each other, and she also didn’t know how she would handle seeing him in his condition. </p><p>It had been weeks since the traumatic episode happened, but Sam still hasn’t recovered. Even the slightest brush against her body when she accidentally bumps into a table or chair makes her jump a mile. It’s like her body still thinks she’s fighting for her life. Having to face going back to school is another situation that she doesn’t want to contemplate just yet. When she thinks about returning, all she can do is visualize that staircase and it's enough to turn her off from ever returning.</p><p>Amanda looked at Sam and noticed her guarded trance. She wished she knew how to take away her daughter’s pain. “Hey, do you want to maybe help me bake Grandma’s famous chocolate cake to bring with us to the hospital? I’m sure they would really appreciate eating something other than that hospital food,” she joked.</p><p>“Maybe a little bit later, I’m actually kind of tired. I think I’ll take a nap for a bit.”</p><p>“Okay, well just let me know.” Amanda got up and left her daughter’s room, trying to not worry too much about her well-being.</p><p>Sam laid down in her bed and shut off the lights. She wanted to sleep, but her mind was too busy to let her rest — that had been a problem lately for her. What was she supposed to say to Miguel tomorrow, she wondered. And what would he think about her being there. She knew that visiting him was the right thing to do, and she wanted to make sure he knew she was there if he needed her, but she had no idea how she felt about him at the moment. </p><p>Between Robby and Miguel, her feelings were completely split. For as much as she cared for them both, she was equally furious at them. Miguel had been such a jerk after he joined Cobra Kai; it really disappointed her to see someone who she thought she trusted turn into someone she couldn’t recognize. Not to mention that him dating Tory just showed he had poor taste in friends. However, toward the end of the summer, she started to recognize that her feelings for him weren’t gone yet. She wished she had time to give him a chance as her friend again before she got drunk and kissed him, ruining everything. </p><p>Then there was Robby. She didn’t know where they stood, and Sam had no idea whether she was going to ever find out or if he was gone for good. She hated not knowing where he was or if he was ever coming back. Was he mad at her for kissing Miguel? They never got to talk about it. Even though she was extremely mad at him for how he ended the fight and running away, she knew that wasn’t the Robby who she’s grown to care for. She felt safe with Robby — like he would protect her and he respected her. Their training sessions together just made them grow closer to each other, and it was like they shared this bond that would be irreplaceable.</p><p>She hated that her mind wouldn’t stop scanning over all of her feelings at the current moment when she really needed to focus on herself, but it was out of her control. Sam tried to tap into her meditative breathing to hopefully focus her mind on the current moment without all of the “what-if’s”. Once she got herself under control, she was finally able to let herself fall asleep.</p><p>——————————————————————————————————————————-</p><p>Laying in the hospital bed unable to move or do anything was probably the most bored Miguel had ever been. He remembers a summer about 4 years ago when his mom, Abuelita, and him had just moved into this shabby apartment complex — it was even more run down than their current home — and he had nothing to do for the entire summer. They didn’t own a TV, he didn’t know anyone in the area, there wasn’t enough space to play outside, and his mom wouldn’t let him ride his bike anywhere. He had thought that was the most bored he ever would be. Now he realizes how much he took for granted. </p><p>He didn’t know what to do about his current situation. It sucked. End of story. He tried not to think about it too much, and he tried to think positively, but the more information he got from doctors the harder that became. There was supposed to be a promising surgery that would help him begin the path to maybe walk again, but there was so much uncertainty in it. Not to mention, he could overhear his mom speaking with his Abuelita about it and the price was so high she likely couldn’t afford it.</p><p>He hated everything about this situation, and the worst part was there was nothing he could do about it except lay in this bed. </p><p>Hawk and Aisha had stopped to visit him and Demetri and Moon came recently as well to say they’re sorry about what happened, but it wasn’t the same with them. He appreciated his friends coming to show their support, but it was hard to feel happy around them when they made it away pretty much unscathed and here he was lying in a hospital bed, paralyzed. </p><p>One benefit of his friends coming was being able to ask about Sam and Tory. He had no idea how their fight ended and he was worried to say the least. From what he could get out of his friends before sounding too desperate was that they both made it out alive, but he couldn’t get much else. According to Aisha, Tory hasn’t been to Cobra Kai practice since the incident and she hasn’t heard from her either. </p><p>Miguel felt terrible about what happened between him and Tory. He knew he was partially responsible for the fight. It was him who led Tory on and wasn’t honest with her about still having feelings for Sam during their relationship. Then he really screwed everything up by kissing Sam at the party. It was a horrible mistake, but it didn’t excuse Tory from going after Sam and trying to — who knows — kill her? Miguel didn’t know what Tory was thinking starting that fight, but he was the one who paid for it.</p><p>“Miggy? The LaRusso’s are here to visit you, is that okay?” His mom came in and asked him. </p><p>“LaRusso’s?” His voice caught in his throat. Did that mean Sam was here too? He didn’t know if he was ready to see her yet. It would be even weirder if I said they couldn’t come in though, wouldn’t it? “Yeah, um, it’s fine mom. Can you help me sit up a little more?”</p><p>Carmen pulled him up in the bed and fixed his hair for him, giving him a sly smile. He always appreciated his mom knowing what he was thinking without having to say anything. She left the room and came back with Amanda, Daniel and Sam in tow. </p><p>Miguel’s eyes widened when he saw her come through his hospital room’s door. Her hair was braided back, the way he always liked it, and she had on a blue and white flowy dress. He always admired the way she dressed simply, but always looked beautiful. She somehow looked smaller than he remembered though, and her eyes weren’t quite the same.</p><p>There was a bit of an awkward moment as the family came into the room and no one knew exactly what to say. Amanda was the first to say something, “We thought you guys might be tired of eating the cafeteria food so we brought Daniel’s mom’s famous chocolate cake. It’s really good — can I offer anyone a piece?”</p><p>“Thank you so much, it looks delicious. I’m sure my Miggy and mom would love some,” Carmen immediately responded, taking the cake from Amanda’s arms. </p><p>Daniel moved closer to Miguel and looked at him sincerely in the eyes. “Hey, I want you to know that we’re all rooting for you. It doesn’t matter what side of the fight anyone was on, it shouldn’t have happened, and I’m sorry that it did. We’re all just happy to know that you’re doing alright.” Daniel put his hand on Miguel’s arm and gave it a squeeze.</p><p>Miguel smiled at him and nodded. He appreciated what he said, even if sorry wasn’t going to change the result of what happened. “Thank you, Mr. LaRusso.”</p><p>“How are you doing Miguel?” Sam asked, and she moved closer to his bedside.</p><p>Miguel looked down and stuttered for a bit before Carmen jumped in, “Would you guys help me gather some plates and stuff from the cafeteria to serve the cake?” She shuffled the parents out of the room knowing that this might be an important moment for Miguel to finally talk openly about how he’s feeling. She hasn’t been able to get him to share his honest feelings with her, but she was hopeful that Sam might be someone he felt safe confiding in.</p><p>“Uh, I—I’ve been better,” Miguel joked and gave her a goofy smile. </p><p>“I’m sorry, it was a stupid question,” she backtracked while shuffling her feet awkwardly. </p><p>“No it’s okay, I mean, obviously this isn’t an ideal circumstance, but I’m alive, and there is hope too. Apparently there is a surgery that is supposed to give me a better chance at walking again which we’re considering, so even though I’m not great, I think there’s hope,” he said. </p><p>Sam moved to sit at the edge of his bed. She was struggling to meet his eyes with her own. “I’m really sorry Miguel,” she finally found the courage to look up. “I know everybody must be saying that to you right now, but I really mean it. I’m really really sorry this happened to you and that I caused it,” her voice broke at the end. She felt a tear slip down her face and turned so that he wouldn’t be able to see it. </p><p>“Hey, hey, hey, are you crying?” He lifted a hand barely in the air to reach out to her, but his reach wasn’t close enough. </p><p>“I just feel so guilty. If I never had been jealous of Tory, if I never decided to get drunk that night, and I never tried to kiss you none of this would have happened. You wouldn’t be here, Robby wouldn’t have ran” she trailed off and realized she was rambling. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>Miguel’s head was spinning from everything Sam had just poured out. Why was she jealous of Tory? Is she worried about Robby? Did she think that kiss was a mistake? He questioned it all, but first and foremost he questioned why she felt guilty. </p><p>“Sam, shhh, come here,” she shifted closer to him and he tried to comfort her with a brush of his hand on hers. Her breath hitched at his action. “You aren’t to blame for all of this. Trust me, I’ve played the ‘what if’ game about a thousand times laying here in this hospital bed, and you know what, it doesn’t matter. Truthfully, we’re all to blame for this disaster. I am pissed at Cobra Kai for being assholes and ruining your dad’s dojo. I’m pissed at myself for what I did to Tory. I’m pissed at Tory for the way she reacted, and I’m pissed at Robby for the way he ended the fight. But I’m not pissed at you,” she finally met his eyes again. “I don’t know why, maybe because I feel as equally to blame for this whole mess, or because I just can’t imagine you ever wanting to hurt anyone. But I’m not mad at you. So stop feeling guilty about what happened, it wasn’t your fault.”</p><p>Same grabbed his hand with her own and squeezed it. “Can you feel this?” She asked. </p><p>“Not really, but a little bit. It’s weird though, I—I remember how it feels,” he gave her a small smile and she smiled back. For the time in three weeks, they both smiled a genuine smile. </p><p>“Thank you, Miguel. I’ve missed you,” she said. </p><p>“I’ve missed you too.” He really wanted to kiss her, but not only could he physically not make the move, but he also knew it probably wasn’t a good time. He still had no idea how she felt about Robby, and he wasn’t sure what to make of Tory at the moment either. </p><p>“Knock, knock,” Carmen said coming through the door with two plates of cake. “Hey you guys, you both are looking a lot better. How do you feel about a piece of cake?” They both accepted as Sam’s parents came into the room as well. Sam released Miguel’s hand, suddenly aware that her dad was in the room and didn’t want him to go into his overprotective mode. </p><p>When she realized he couldn’t eat his cake on his own, Sam picked up Miguel’s fork and began to feed him tiny pieces from his plate. </p><p>“I feel like a baby,” he laughed. </p><p>Sam made circular motions with the fork this time as she brought the cake closer to his mouth, “here comes the airplane, zooom!” She joked, making Miguel and the adults all laugh in the room. </p><p>She continued to make up creative techniques to feed him his cake. For a moment, they almost forgot about everything that had come between them in the past. It was just the two of them, carefree, enjoying each other’s company once again. </p><p>After the cake was all eaten and the conversation had died down, it was time for their visit to be over. Sam and her parents said their goodbyes and Carmen thanked them all for coming.</p><p>Miguel smiled at Sam as she left. He noticed that the light in her eyes had returned, and for the first time in what felt like forever, he felt at ease. </p><p>——————————————————————————————————————————-</p><p> </p><p>Robby stood in front of the mirror in the gas station’s bathroom under fluorescent lighting. He took in his reflection thinking about whether he looked awful or surprisingly good for someone who hadn’t showered in weeks. He looked down at his hands where he held a pair of scissors and a cheap comb he just bought from the gas station. Even though he liked his straight shag look, he knew it was time to go if he didn’t want to risk being recognized from behind.</p><p>He never cut his hair before. Usually his mom did it for him, always giving him a bowl cut style and then he just let that grow out when he wanted to experiment with an “emo-teen” look. Style wasn’t really his goal at the moment though, he just needed to cut the length off. He flipped his head over so that his hair would be in front of him and gripped a strand of hair near his ear. Slicing diagonally toward the back of his head, he cut off a sufficient amount, letting it tumble to the floor. Then he went to the other side of his head, repeating the same line as before. He added a couple of vertical chops around the sides and back of his head hoping that it would even out the different layers. When he felt satisfied, he flipped his back over and straightened out.</p><p>Robby gave himself a once over and cleaned up a few of the missed pieces. Honestly, he thought he did a pretty good job, or at least better than he expected to do. </p><p>He picked up the fallen strands with a paper towel and threw them away into the trash. After washing his hands, he threw on the dark shades that he recently bought and walked out of the bathroom.</p><p>He hopped into the car and started his drive to another remote location where he could park his car and take a rest for a day. He was running low on water and cereal, which meant he either needed to come up with a scheme to steal more or get some money to last him a while. He also had to consider how long he was going to be out on his own before deciding how he was going to carry on with his life.</p><p>Contrary to what most people thought, Robby actually liked school — well, he enjoyed learning. He could envision a future where he did what he was supposed to do: studied hard, went to college, got a good job, and created a solid family whom he provided for. His thoughts drifted to images of a little boy and girl both with wavy brown hair; one with his green eyes and one with bright blue ones. Sam and him could spare together in their background as they demonstrated self-defense techniques to their kids. He could be the father he always wanted; he could give his family the life he always hoped he deserved. </p><p>In reality, he knew that that life was only a dream that he let himself get too close to thinking could come true. His life wasn’t charmed — it never was. He always was destined to be the deadbeat, high school drop-out that screwed everything up. He really liked Sam. She was everything he could imagine wanting in a relationship: strong, smart, beautiful, and she understood him. She came from a completely different lifestyle than he did, but something about the way she looked at Robby made him feel like she saw him for everything he was and liked him anyways. She made him feel special. But a future with her was far fetched. She probably already was running back to Miguel to restore their relationship. Without Sam, he didn’t know if his dream future was worthwhile.</p><p>Robby thought about his mom trying to make a better life for herself. How she took her future into her own hands, even after everything she has gone through. He admired that. Maybe he could learn from her — god knows his dad isn’t an example of moving on from your past. He always looked for an example in his life of how he should live, but never found anything promising. He thought Mr. LaRusso might be that for him, but after everything that happened, he realized that Mr. LaRusso is just too different from him to learn from.</p><p>His mom, she could be a start. Robby remembered where her rehabilitation center was from when they dropped her off there and said goodbye. She always wanted the best for him, so maybe she would at the very least not turn him in.</p><p>——————————————————————————————————————————-</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sam and Miguel have so many cute moments together, I feel like they are so easy to write witty banter for. Next chapter will be posted soon and include some Robby/Sam moments. Comment below if you're team Robby or team Miguel -- I am curious!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Natural Born Cobra</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sam receives the encouragement she needs from an old friend to brave returning to school.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is just a quick little instalment because the next chapter is pretty long, and I don't want this piece to get lost or overshadowed with it. So I hope you like this scene! And look for the next chapter coming out tomorrow (it's a good one).</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Hi Robby,</em>
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<p>  <em>I hope you’re okay, wherever you are. I wish I knew where you were and how you are feeling. We’re all really worried about you. My dad has been calling hospitals and shelters for weeks now trying to find you. Regardless of what you think, we all really care about you and just want the best for you. Please just respond to tell me you’re okay.
</em></p>
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  <em></em>
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<p> <em>~ Sam</em></p>
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<p>Sam finished typing out her email to Robby and sent it off to him. She had no idea whether he was checking his email, but since he hadn’t responded to any of her text messages, she hoped maybe this would reach him. She tried to pretend like his phone died or he didn’t have any service where he was, but deep down she figured he was purposefully ignoring all of her messages.</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
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<p>She really wanted to know that he was okay. Regardless of her romantic feelings for him, she really cared about him and didn’t want to go another day without knowing if he was okay. Based on the way he lived before her family took him in, she knew that he was independent and could survive on his own, but that didn’t mean it was comfortable. Sam also hated not speaking to him. Going from literally living together where they could see each other everyday to not having him at all was a sharp contrast. She missed the way he would kiss her goodnight or hold her hand when they walked to the dojo together. She missed their car rides together to pick up groceries and fighting with him about what music to listen to. </p>
<p>
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<p>Not having him showed her how important he was in her life. She closed her laptop and tried to shake the feelings away from her mind. Yesterday she had a really good day with Miguel, and being with him almost reminded her of what it was like before they stopped being honest with each other and let Karate come between them. But what did it mean if she still couldn’t stop thinking about Robby? She was struggling with her feelings for both boys and wasn’t even sure if either of them still wanted to be with her. </p>
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<p>When Tory told everyone at school that she kissed Miguel, she caught a glimpse of Robby’s face as he learned about the news. The way his face looked when he learned of her betrayal was piercing. It hurt more than the blows to her body. </p>
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  <em></em>
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<p>Her phone beeped on her bed and she reached over to check the notification. It was a message from Aisha: <em>“Hey Sam, I know I’m the last person you probably expected to hear from, but I just wanted to check to see if you’re okay and how you’re doing. You may have not heard, but my parents decided to take me out of West Valley and we’re moving to Topanga — I guess they have a really good private school and they want me to leave Cobra Kai to join Topanga Karate instead. After everything that went down, I want you to know that I’m sorry for taking Tory’s side in everything, I shouldn’t have let her come between us. You were my friend first and if it wasn’t for Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do, we probably would still be friends. My family is moving this weekend, so I was hoping maybe we could see each other one last time before I move away. Let me know!” </em></p>
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<p>After reading the text, Sam’s heart felt a little more whole. Her friendship with Aisha was really important to her growing up, and she took it for granted on several occasions. When Aisha started dissing her to hang out with Tory and the Cobra Kais, she realized how it must have felt for Aisha to be abandoned by her. </p>
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<p>Part of her wishes it was her who made the first move to recover their friendship. Although, she was grateful that Aisha took that step because truthfully, she didn’t think Aisha cared about her enough to bother reaching out. As disappointed Sam was that her friend was moving away, she knew it was for the best. She had considered moving schools as well after this whole mess, but she didn't want to cause her parents anymore stress. It also wouldn’t solve anything by running away. Cobra Kai would still exist and her friends would still be involved in this mess.</p>
<p>
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<p>Sam read through the message one more time and then formed a response to her: <em>“Hi Aisha, I am really really really happy to hear from you. I am doing alright, mostly healed now but still a bit shook up. I wish that I could undo everything that happened this year and we could go back to hanging out at the planetarium and getting ice cream together. I’m sorry too. For letting my dad’s rivalry dictate how I treated you and thinking being popular was more important than our friendship. I would love to see you before you leave, and I’m sure that we can still find time to hang out even with you going to your fancy private school and kicking butt (literally) in Topanga Karate. Love you ~ Sam”</em></p>
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<p>Sam started to feel good about where things were leading. Finally, she thought she had some direction in her life and things weren’t spinning out of control. I think I can go back to school now, she thought. With the support from Aisha and her talk with Miguel, Sam felt brave enough to face whatever heading back there might hold.</p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I missed Aisha in Cobra Kai season 3, and I hope we get her back in season 4 fighting for Topanga Valley Karate -- wouldn't that be fun!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Here's to Correcting Mistakes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Robby takes big steps to turn his life around, and he learns that doing the right thing isn't not necessarily the easiest option.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is the chapter that I didn't know I needed until I wrote it, but I am really happy with how it came out. I found this so cathartic because watching season 3, I just wanted Robby to catch a break, and I feel like this is what could've happened in a "perfect" world.</p>
<p>Also, just a warning for anyone reading this who are die-hard Sam/Miguel fans: this story is going to have a lot of Robby and Sam in it, because that's just what makes sense to me, I like them together, and this is my fiction. So if you can't stand reading Robby and Sam together, then please don't read this! I respect your ship and I like Sam and Miguel together as well, but I also think the back and forth dynamic is fun so that's how I am writing them. But I just want to warn anyone so that they don't read this and get upset by Sam's feelings for Robby -- I am kind of tired of reading the reviews that say Robby and Sam's relationship is wrong. Just don't read it if it makes you upset please!</p>
<p>Okay, thank you for coming to my TED Talk. I hope those of you still here enjoy this chapter haha</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Robby pulled up to the rehabilitation center, it looked nothing like how he pictured it. To be fair, he never really considered what rehab would look like, but whatever he had imagined, it wasn’t nearly as nice as this. <em>Just one more reason why the LaRusso’s are way beyond my league</em>, he admitted. He knew they had money, but to be able to help his mom out by paying for this rehab program, in addition to housing him for the past 5 months, it became clearer that they must’ve been a lot more well-off than he thought.</p>
<p>He walked past several people on the front lawn doing yoga and Tai Chi. A few more in the corner were painting pictures with oil pastels. Robby felt a little bit self-conscious walking by all the people. He hadn’t showered in weeks, and he was sure that he smelled and looked rough. However, no one looked at him with any judgement as he walked up the pathway and through the household. </p>
<p>At the end of the long hallway off the entrance was a desk with a woman sitting behind it in a wicker-hanging chair. Her legs were crossed as she gleefully flipped through a tablet on the desk. Robby wasn’t quite sure if she was the person in charge of everything happening, but since she was the only one with a device, he figured he could give it a shot.</p>
<p>“Um, excuse me, do you work here?” He asked.</p>
<p>The woman looked up with wide eyes, “Oh, yes, hi, sorry,” she fumbled with her tablet. He must’ve caught her off-guard. She cleared her throat before continuing, “what — what can I do for you? Are you checking in?”</p>
<p>“No, uhh — I was wondering if I could visit someone? My mom, she has been here for about three months now. Her name is Shannon Keene, K-E-E-N-E.”</p>
<p>The woman typed into her tablet as he was speaking. Looking down, Robby noticed for the first time that she was barefoot. His eyebrows crinkled. </p>
<p>“Ah, yes I see her right here, do you have an appointment today?” She asked after a moment of searching.</p>
<p>Robby inwardly cursed for not making an appointment. His phone was dead over a week ago so there was no way he could make a call anyways. He ran a hand through hair, feeling how the ends stopped a lot sooner than they used to, now that he has cut it. “I didn’t know I had to make one, I’m sorry, I just — it’s been a really long time and my mom is my best friend in this whole world. It was really hard for me when she left, but if I could just see her for a few minutes I think it would be just what I need to keep going,” he put on his best lost-child-in-a-grocery-store voice and pouted his lip. If his days of scheming taught him anything, it was that emotional manipulation works ten times more effectively than any other way of getting around.</p>
<p>It seemed to work. The woman looked like she was going to cry, “Ohh of course, honey! I totally understand — my mom was extremely close to me too growing up and having to say goodbye is the hardest thing. I can assure you, though, that your mom is going to be much better off because of your bravery allowing her to go. I’m just going to call up to her room and see where she is at, then have her meet you on the patio over there — how does that sound?” She gave him a bright smile.</p>
<p>Robby tried on a cheesy grin and dropped it as soon as he turned out of her sight. He took a seat on the patio chair around a small table where the woman pointed to. As he waited, he started to get a little nervous about seeing his mom again. It really had been a while since he saw her. That last night when he saw her before they dropped her off, she didn’t look very good. Hopefully she would be better now, but then again it was only three months; how much progress could be made in that amount of time? Does she know about what he did? Robby was afraid that if she found out she would try to lecture him about everything, or feel like she screwed up as a parent. He wouldn’t hesitate to say that his dad screwed up as a parent, but his mom gave him everything she had until she couldn’t anymore. She made a lot of mistakes for sure, but she had always been there for Robby when he needed her — well, at least until she wasn’t. </p>
<p>“Robby?”</p>
<p>Robby looked up at the sound of his mom’s hesitant voice. He took in her appearance: shiny hair, fresh skin, soft-clean clothes. She looked good; she looked healthy. He smiled at her, his charming half-smile and stood as she came closer.</p>
<p>Shannon’s eyes wet with tears as she saw her son waiting there for her. He looked a little bit run-down, but still her little boy. She noticed his hair was shorter now, and it reminded her of when she used to give him the bowl cuts once every few months in their tiny kitchen. She would make him sit on the countertop and trim around a plastic mixing bowl. As he got taller, she would have to move him to shorter chairs so that she could see over his head, until eventually he sat on an upside-down trash bin. </p>
<p>When Robby reached her, he stretched out to his mom with open arms and pulled her into a hug as she softly cried. He patted her back and firmly held her until her arms came around him to hold his head. Being in his mom’s arms sent him back to a time when any ache and pain could be solved by just sitting in his mom’s lap, as she cradled him close to her chest, and made the world’s problems fade away. Remembering the happy times and how they led him to here, Robby felt tears start to well-up in his eyes for the first time since the incident. All of his emotions from the past three weeks resurfaced, and he cried into his mom’s arms.</p>
<p>Robby started trembling so Shannon held him tighter. “Shh, it’s okay honey. I know, I know...I know, it’s okay. You’re going to be okay,” she soothed while petting his hair.</p>
<p>Once Robby started to calm down, the two pulled back and made their way to the table that had been momentarily abandoned. Robby took a deep breath as he sat down. He looked up at his mother’s concerned face with wet eyes and he knew that she knew about what happened. “Mom, I — “ he paused for a moment, “you look really good,” he said genuinely.</p>
<p>Shannon’s heart fluttered at hearing her son’s words. “Thank you, sweetie. I am feeling really good. This is working for me. It was extremely hard at the start, but I think I am just now finally settling in and really thinking about who I am and my future — about our future.” She hesitated before beginning again. “Robby, I know that I wasn’t being fair to you these past few years, and I am really, really sorry. I realize now that for the past 16 years, I have been searching for myself. When you were born honey, it was the best day of my life, but it was also the most scared I have ever felt. Your dad left us before you were even born; I was all by myself. I began using substances to make me feel not so alone. I wanted to do right by you, and I thought they were helping me stay under control, but really I was losing more of myself every day. You deserved me at my fullest, but until I was able to feel comfortable with myself, I wasn’t going to be whole,” her voice shook as she said these words aloud. She took a deep breath as she watched his intense stare stay steady at her words. He always had a great poker face to hide his feelings. “But now that I’ve been sober for three months, I’ve learned so much about myself. For the first time, I am working towards being the person you need in your life instead of just getting by. I think I want to be a school counselor for a school in a low-budget district. This is helping me get started by taking classes here, and I should be able to finish in one year after I get out of here, and maybe work part-time at one of the schools in our area until then — I see a future for myself now, and I just wish I could have helped myself sooner to see that for us,” she finished with tears in her eyes.</p>
<p>Robby slowly nodded his head and softened his gaze a bit after she finished speaking. He was really proud of his mom for the progress she has made, but part of him was a little upset at the fact that he caused her all of this struggle in her life. “Wow, mom, I am really happy for you. I think that’s really great that you were able to have this chance to realize your potential.”</p>
<p>“I wanted to tell you all this, Robby, because if it isn’t too late for me to correct the mistakes in my life, then it isn’t for you either,” she said. Robby looked at her confused. “Mr. LaRusso called me, he explained everything that happened at the high school and how you ran off. We all are really — “</p>
<p>“ — worried about me, I know,” he finished for her, sitting back in his and crossing his arms. “That’s all everyone has been saying to me since the dumb fight happened,” he responded heatedly. “But none of you seemed worried for me when I was living in a dark apartment, by myself, eating corn flakes with water because you left to go get drunk in Cogo. And no one cared about me when I ditched going to school so that I could get high and mess shit up with my stupid-ass friends all day. Everyone was obviously doing a whole lot better when I wasn’t in their lives making everything much more complicated and screwing shit up, so why don’t I make it easier on everyone and get lost,” he finished yelling and stood up from the table to leave.</p>
<p>Before he could walk away, his mom grabbed his and yanked him back. “Robby! Sit down.” She demanded. </p>
<p>He rolled his eyes and was about to shake her hand from his when he looked back and connected with her sad eyes. Instead, he decided to sit back down without changing his stoic expression.</p>
<p>“You are not a screw up. Honey, none of this is your fault. When I said I made mistakes in my life, I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about all the moments when you needed me and I wasn’t good enough. I was talking about all the times when I could’ve helped myself, but chose not to because I didn’t think I was worth it. Was I ready for you when I found out I was pregnant? No, I wasn’t. But I wouldn’t ever take back having you in my life. You’re the best thing to come out of my life; I mean that, and I’m sure your dad would feel the same way,” she had been holding his hand since he tried to walk away. Robby squeezed her hand back as his stare broke and his eyes softened. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry mom, I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I just — I am really…” he trailed off looking for the words to sum up all of the emotions he has experienced over the past few weeks.</p>
<p>“Scared,” she finished for him. He nodded his head and gulped. “I know honey. I know how you feel. Robby, I wanted to tell you all of this, not just because I want you to know how sorry I am for messing up your life, but because I want you to learn from my mistakes.” Shannon held both of her son's hands in hers and pulled them closer to herself to make sure she had his attention. “You are worth fighting for. You deserve to be happy, and to shape your own future the way you want it. No matter how bad you think it is right now, it is never too late to come back from your mistakes. I mean look at me, if you told me four months ago that I would be here getting my life on track, I would think I was on acid and this was some kind of a fever dream,” Robby laughed at her statement.</p>
<p>“I just don’t know how to fix this. I don’t know where to go from here,” he admitted.</p>
<p>“When I talked to Mr. LaRusso, he said that the judge will give you a much lower sentence if you turn yourself in,” Robby’s face immediately switched to panic. He didn’t want to go to prison. For all the time he helped Trey and Cruz with their schemes, ripping people off and stealing stuff, he never really considered that he would end up in prison. Maybe it was because at the time he didn’t have a lot of reason to care about the consequences. Now though, the thought of ending up in juvenile prison was more than he could handle.</p>
<p>“No, mom, no I can’t. I would just rot in there. I need to go to school, I need to say sorry to Sam — do you know if she’s okay?” He was flustered and at this point rambling.</p>
<p>His mom sighed, “You are going to go to school and you can take care of all of those things after you’ve had time to learn from your mistakes. Trust me Robby, this is the best way forward. I don’t want to see you end up like me or your dad trying to brush over your mistakes until you become a weak person who just hurts everyone in their life. This is the only way forward, honey.”</p>
<p>Robby stared at her in the eyes for a while longer. He knew she was right, but he just didn’t want to take this step. Finally, Robby sighed and decided to give in. “Okay. You’re right. How do I turn myself in?” He asked.</p>
<p>“So in my conversation with Mr. LaRusso, he said he would come get you wherever you are and bring to the station himself. He talked to the judge and sent a character recommendation on your behalf explaining how far you have come, and it sounded promising. If you’re okay with it, I will give him a call right now and he can come and get things settled for you.”</p>
<p>Robby nodded without much expression. Internally, he was terrified about seeing Mr. LaRusso again. That man had given him so much and yet he disappointed him time and time again. He couldn’t believe that he actually wanted to help him, but having talked to his mom, he felt like she wouldn’t lead him astray. If she said Mr. LaRusso wanted to help him, then maybe he did.</p>
<p>“Mom, for what it’s worth, I think you would make a really good counselor one day,” he said smiling at her.</p>
<p>Shannon’s face broke into a brilliant grin. Hearing her son have faith in her meant the world. “Thank you. That is worth everything to me,” she said. “Before I get up to let Mr. LaRusso know that you’re here, can I get you something to eat? And maybe a shower?” She asked, her upper lip curling up a bit at his scent.</p>
<p>Robby chuckled softly, “yeah actually, both of those would be really nice. I don’t know if you can tell, but I haven’t showered in about three weeks,” he joked.</p>
<p>Shannon laughed, but didn’t find it all that funny. She felt guilty for her son being in this position and not being there to help him. “I’m really sorry Robby. I wish…” she started.</p>
<p>“It’s okay. It’s my mistake, and I’m ready to make things right,” he finished for her firmly.</p>
<p>Robby was able to go to his mom’s room and take a shower while she washed his clothes and ordered a meal for him. After he finished showering and got a real meal in him that wasn’t cereal or a Slim Jim, he felt a lot more calm about his situation. He knew that this wouldn’t be easy, but when his brain was able to think clearly about everything, he felt like he could visualize a light at the end of the tunnel. </p>
<p>By the time Robby was done eating, Daniel was already on his way to come pick him up. It wasn’t long until his mom received a phone call in her room altering her of Daniel’s arrival. </p>
<p>Robby was nervous to see his Sensei. He didn’t know what he was supposed to say to him, even though there was a lot he wanted to get off his chest. Based on the fact that Daniel drove all the way out here to get Robby, he could guess that he wasn’t too angry with him. Although, this could be just a ploy to get Robby in prison so that he wouldn’t be in his life anymore. He hated to consider that option, but it was more possible in his mind than the other options. </p>
<p>Shannon and her son walked outside of the large manor to where Daniel stood in front of his car, arms by his side. Robby kept his head down as they approached, only sneaking occasional glances up at his Sensei. </p>
<p>“Nice cut,” Daniel complimented when the two arrived in front of him. </p>
<p>Robby looked up at him slightly confused, but his face was still hard. “Thank you…” he said confused. </p>
<p>“Daniel, thank you so much for being here. Robby and I had a really nice conversation,” Shannon said. Robby looked between the two adults feeling like he was in a virtual reality. He hadn’t been around anyone he knew in a long time, but had thought about all of them insatiably nevertheless. There was a lot he wanted to say, and standing here, sharing niceties, just felt like a waste of time. </p>
<p>“Ready to go?” Daniel finally asked. </p>
<p>Robby nodded his head. He looked to his mom next to say his goodbyes. Everything that happened between them was so personal, only they knew what it meant to say goodbye again under these circumstances. Robby reached forward to pull his mom into a firm hug, resting his head on her shoulder. She cradled his head like before, except now instead of reeking like gas stations and body odor he smelt of flowery Suave shampoo and lavender body wash. A little bit more feminine than he wished to smell like walking into juvenile prison, but it was a step up from before. </p>
<p>“Thank you mom, I love you,” he told her, pulling away. </p>
<p>“I love you too, honey. And everything is going to be okay,” she looked at him directly in the eyes pointedly. “And for now on, you will always have me here for you,” she finished. </p>
<p>He gave her one last squeeze before pulling back making sure none of his tears spilt over. </p>
<p>Robby walked up to Mr. LaRusso giving him a nod, “Thank you, Mr. LaRusso, for...helping me out. Especially after everything, I just…” </p>
<p>“We’ll talk more in the car, alright?” Daniel gave him a knowing smile and pat his student on the back as Robby got into the car.</p>
<p>Shannon and Daniel said their goodbyes as well, and then he got into the car beside Robby. </p>
<p>The car started driving away; Robby stared forward with his hands on his thighs and a pained look on his face. He didn’t know where to begin. </p>
<p>“So where did you leave the car at?” Daniel asked him. </p>
<p>Robby’s head shot up upon remembering. He completely forgot about the car he just abandoned at the rehab center. “I’m so sorry Mr. LaRusso, I promise I’m going to pay you back for it. It’s in the rehab center parking lot right now — it isn’t damaged, don’t worry.” </p>
<p>Daniel held a hand up to wave him off. “It’s alright, I knew that Caravan wasn’t your style anyways.”</p>
<p>Robby sat there next to him in a moment of silence, collecting his thoughts. </p>
<p>“Mr. LaRusso, I’m really sorry. I’m sorry about — everything. I don’t know where to begin...how is —“ he paused, wanting to ask about Sam but fearing she wanted nothing to do with him, he stopped himself. “How is Miguel?” He opted for instead. </p>
<p>“He is...awake. He’s doing better, the kid is a fighter, as we both know,” he chuckled a bit. “His mom is saying that that doctor didn’t think he would walk again, but I don’t know. I’ve seen some miracles happen in my life, and I know from experience that anything is possible if you set your mind to it so, I think in some time he will be okay.” Robby nodded along, feeling the relief that he didn’t kill Miguel with that kick. Daniel glanced at Robby next to him, “And Sam is okay too.”</p>
<p>A sigh of relief he didn’t realize he was holding finally released from Robby. He ran his hands through his hair and down his face. “How badly was she hurt? I tried to protect her Mr. LaRusso, I really tried, but Miguel kept getting in the way and I just —“ Robby stopped talking when he felt Daniel’s hand on his shoulder to comfort him. </p>
<p>“I know, I know you did.” Daniel took in a deep breath and let it out. “And I taught you that. That karate isn’t just for self-defense, it’s also about protecting others. It’s not your fault what happened Robby, it’s mine. You’re my student,” Daniel felt his eyes get watery just thinking about his mentor and best friend. Wondering how he would’ve handled this situation. He knew deep down that Mr. Miyagi would have never gotten himself into this situation because he was the best teacher to ever exist. Daniel let his arrogance run Miyagi’s name into the ground. “Mr. Miyagi always said, there’s no such thing as a bad student. Only bad teachers.” A single tear that was threatening his eyes broke through his restraints and released down his cheek. Daniel quickly wiped at the corner of his eye.  “I knew I wasn’t nearly as good of a teacher as Mr. Miyagi, but I failed you, Robby. I let you down.”</p>
<p>Robby couldn’t believe the words Daniel was saying. This entire time, he never gave it a thought that this wasn’t his fault. He was the one that kept beating at Miguel; he was the one to finish the fight; he was the one that ran away instead of dealing with his consequences. “Mr. LaRusso, that isn’t true. You’re the best teacher I’ve ever had. You taught me so much more than karate. It’s because of you that I thought I actually had a future here, instead of being some washed up drop out like my dad. I made the mistake. I could’ve stopped fighting when I saw Miguel back off, but I didn’t trust him. I didn’t think he was done. Maybe the adrenaline got the best of me, but I wanted him out of my way so that I could get to Sam. Maybe I wanted payback for him kissing her...or for him taking away my dad...I don’t know. But it wasn’t just self defense — it wasn’t what you taught me.” </p>
<p>Daniel gulped before asking his next question, “Robby, I’m going to ask you this next, and I need an honest answer. Were you ever trying to kick Miguel over the railing? Did you want to seriously hurt him?”</p>
<p>“What? No — NO, that, that wasn’t it at all. I didn’t think, I just did. I didn’t realize that the railing was there, I didn’t think about the implications, I just wanted him out of my way,” Robby hoped that justification made things clear. He feared now that’s what everyone thought his goal was: to kill Miguel. He couldn’t imagine Sam ever trusting him again if that was what her belief was.</p>
<p>“Okay, I believe you,” he looked at his student sincerely in the eyes for a brief moment before turning back to the road. “That is going to make a big difference with the judge if I can honestly say that you weren’t trying to hurt him.”</p>
<p>“My mom said you wrote me a character recommendation. Thank you. Thank you for always cleaning up my messes. You don’t have to, but thank you.”</p>
<p>“Like I said, it’s my mistake too. I promise that I’m going to teach you better next time. To understand not just how to defend, but how to make decisions in a fight.” </p>
<p>“So you mean, you’re still going to be my Sensei? After everything that happened you still want to do that?” Robby asked incredulously. </p>
<p>“You remind me a lot of myself at your age Robby. I was a hot head, and I didn’t always know what I wanted for myself, so I made bad decisions. I’m still like that now even,” Daniel laughed a bit. “But karate taught me how to create a path for myself to give me the future I wanted. You remember the Bonsai exercise?”</p>
<p>Robby nodded.</p>
<p>“The Bonsai exercise is a lesson for your whole life, you said so yourself. We’ve been so focused on beating Cobra Kai that it clouded our vision from being able to visualize our futures clearly. When you’re so fixated on one thing, that becomes your reality, and it did — look where we are!”</p>
<p>Robby squinted trying to understand what Daniel was getting at. “So you’re saying that I’m not the tree then?” He asked, confused. </p>
<p>Daniel laughed, “No, no you still are the tree. The point I’m trying to make is that we needed to look beyond what’s in front of us and think about whether what we’re fighting for is worth it. What Kreese has been teaching those students in his dojo is terrifying, but we’re not going to fix the problem with our fists.”</p>
<p>“How do we stop them then?” </p>
<p>“We imagine what it is we really want: to put an end to unnecessary violence. We don’t achieve that by using violence ourselves, instead we control the situation and take away the enemies’ ability to wage war,” Daniel said, remembering what he learned from his recent trip down memory lane in Okinawa. </p>
<p>“I don’t know if I know how to do that,” Robby said. </p>
<p>“And that’s what I’m here for,” Daniel smiled at him. </p>
<p>Robby perked up at the sentiment. “You mean, you’re still going to teach me karate? After I get out of the detention center?” </p>
<p>“If you’ll still have me, I’d want nothing more,” he answered honestly. </p>
<p>Robby beamed at him. He finally started to feel like there was a chance for him. The stress from his past few weeks was fading, and even though he still had unresolved feelings — mainly with his dad and Sam — there was a pseudo-peace he could settle in knowing that things were looking up.</p>
<p>“I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me, for my mom, for all of us, just...thank you,” Robby said looking at Mr. LaRusso with sincerity. He hoped that he could feel how much this second chance means to him. Daniel patted Robby’s shoulder firmly, as it was the closest thing to a hug that he could give him at the moment. “What you were saying back there about whether me kicking Miguel was an accident or not, do you think that Sam knows it wasn’t intentional?” He asked. Robby hadn’t given much thought to whether people assumed it was a mistake or not. In his mind he was a criminal either way, but he wanted to make sure that Sam knew the truth.</p>
<p>“I don’t know, but I don’t think she would be trying to send you texts and emails everyday or ask about whether we’ve heard anything from you if she thought you were trying to kill him. So I wouldn't be too worried, she definitely still cares about you, Robby,” Daniel answered.</p>
<p>“She’s been asking about me?” He tried not to sound too swoon, but it was difficult to hold the emotion back.</p>
<p>“She has, we all have. We all care about you,” Daniel responded. “If you want to make her feel better you could respond to one of her emails,” he remarked.</p>
<p>Robby felt bad thinking of Sam sending a repetition of emails out to no response. “I would have, but my phone has been dead for like two weeks now. I didn’t even know she sent me anything.”</p>
<p>Daniel reached into the center counsel and pulled out a phone charger. “Well, you’ve got some time left before we’re at the station. Get some juice while you can,” he handed over the charger to Robby who immediately connected his phone.</p>
<p>It took about three minutes for his phone to light up. Almost immediately he received notification after notification of text messages and emails from Sam, Mr. LaRusso, Demetri, Mrs. LaRusso; almost everyone he knew except for one important person: his dad. I guess I should’ve expected that, Robby thought. He tried to push those negative feelings aside and instead focus on the messages from Sam.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Are u okay?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“You don’t have to run away Robby, we don’t blame you for what happened”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“It’s going to be okay”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I get it if you don’t want to tell me where you are but just let me know if you’re okay or not”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Alright, I guess you don’t want to respond to me but I want you to know that I still care about you and I feel terrible about what happened. I just want you to know how much I regret everything. I feel like this is all my fault”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Maybe you don’t have cell service...I’ll try emailing you instead”</em>
</p>
<p>Reading through all of these made his heart break. He couldn’t believe she felt responsible for this, for his own mistakes. Her kiss with Miguel still pissed him off, but he wanted to hear her side of things before assuming she wanted to cheat on him. If anything it stung more to think that she could have fallen out of love with him and chosen Miguel than to consider that Miguel took advantage of her while she was drunk at the party. Either way, it didn’t feel great, but he hasn’t processed the information enough to stop caring about Sam.</p>
<p>He formulated a text back to her: <em>“Sam, I’m so sorry, my phone has been dead and I didn’t have any way to charge it. I’m with your dad now and we’re driving to the police station so I can turn myself in. I’m so sorry. This isn’t your fault at all, don’t feel like it is. We can talk about everything once I am done serving my time, or if you want to come visit me I would love that. I hope you’re okay. I’m so sorry I ran away but I just couldn’t face everybody after what happened”</em></p>
<p>He read through it a few times before hitting send. A few minutes went by and he checked on his emails from her that have collected over the past two weeks. Sooner than he expected, Sam responded to him:</p>
<p>
  <em>“Ah I’m so happy that you’re okay! You don’t know how much I’ve thought about you since the fight. Yeah we definitely need to talk about things, if I’m able to visit you there I will. I really miss you”</em>
</p>
<p>Robby smiled at her text. It felt good to have some normalcy again, even if it was just temporary. </p>
<p><em>“I miss you too, you’re all I’ve been able to think about. How are you feeling?”</em> He replied.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Better now :) My injuries definitely could’ve been worse, I had a concussion, some broken ribs, and quite a few cuts and bruises, but it’s all mostly healed. I have a pretty cool scar on my arm now that makes me look badass lol”</em>
</p>
<p>Reading over how injured she got from the fight made him sick. He hated thinking about her laying there, hurting, and he didn’t even reach out to see if she was okay. Robby knew that she was tough, but she was also kind and gentle; she was the best person he knew, and she didn’t deserve this. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Ugh I hate that Sam. I wish I could’ve protected you from all of that. I’m glad you like your scar though lol I’m sure I have quite a few of those now too haha”</em>
</p>
<p>They continued to text for the rest of the ride until Daniel pulled up to the station. Robby told Sam they made it to the police station and that he probably wasn’t going to have access to his phone for his time there, but he was looking forward to being able to talk to her in person.</p>
<p>Robby sighed next to Daniel as soon as the car stopped. “I know this sucks. But you’re doing the right thing,” Daniel said.</p>
<p>With his eyes closed, Robby nodded. He mustered the courage to open the car door and go inside of the station.</p>
<p>The student and his Sensei walked into the station side-by-side. Robby went up to the counter and told the officer who he was and admitted to his crime. The officer put Robby in handcuffs and walked him out to the police cruiser which would bring him to the juvenile detention center. On his way out, Robby gave one more look to Daniel, who responded with a firm nod to reaffirm that things would be okay.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Familiar Faces</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sam and Aisha have some much needed girl time and attempt to sort through their hurt feelings, but they run into a surprising face...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to everyone reading and enjoying this so far! It makes me really happy that people are liking the direction I'm taking this in. I'm going to try to post more frequently with shorter length chapters and see how that works for me...although, my classes started up last week so it may more may not stick depending on how swamped I get. But wish me luck!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The judge determined Robby would spend a month in the detention facility, followed by 6 months on probation. However, if he opted to engage in community service, he could take off one week at the facility per 12 hours of service. </p>
<p>It seemed reasonable enough, although Daniel expected a lesser sentence given his glowing letter of recommendation and the fact that Robby turned himself in. Apparently, Robby’s previous incidents had worked against him more than he was expecting. </p>
<p>Sam began asking her dad about the visitation guidelines at the facility as soon as the sentence was decided. Since neither of them are Robby’s legal guardian or family, scheduling a visit would have to be organized through Robby’s probation officer, and Sam would have to be accompanied by a legal adult. </p>
<p>The situation was more complex than they initially thought, but if given permission, Sam hoped to be able to visit Robby at some point during his time there. At the very least, inmates were allotted one phone call a day during the general activity hour, and Sam thought that may be a suitable alternative. </p>
<p>It was her last weekend before going back to school for the first time since the fight, and Sam was already starting to feel the anxiety creeping in. She wanted to return, but the thought of coming in contact with one of the Cobra Kais made the scar on her arm throb from rememberance. Luckily, today she had plans to meet up with Aisha at their favorite ice cream place in West Valley, Bontanas. She hadn’t had any real plans in a while, so going out to have fun gave her a semblance of the normalcy that she missed.</p>
<p>Sam turned around and looked at herself in the mirror. She wore a loose-fitted, flowy top with high-waisted, tan corduroy shorts. This was supposed to be her second-day-of-school outfit, but ultimately, she never made it there. It was still a good outfit though, and she wanted to get her use out of it. </p>
<p>She pulled the front of her wavy hair into a half-up half-down style with a blue scrunchie to tie it off. Satisfied with her appearance, she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Holding at the top for a few seconds, she focused on soothing her anxious energy, and then slowly released her breath letting all her worries leave with the exhale. When she finished, her mind felt a lot more calm. </p>
<p>She turned around and grabbed her bag off her bed, heading out to see Aisha. </p>
<p>The drive to the ice cream parlor went fairly smoothly. It had been a little while since she last drove, but she didn’t feel out of practice. She parked her car and quickly texted Aisha to see where she was at. Soon after she texted, she got a response from her friend: “Look to your right lol”</p>
<p>Sam looked confused for a second, but then turned to her right and started to laugh. She rolled her passenger window to call out to Aisha. “You know, that’s almost stalker-level stuff right there,” she joked.</p>
<p>Aisha laughed, “No, if I was in your passenger seat when you turned to look right, then you would have to be worried,’ she remarked.</p>
<p>The two girls got out of their cars laughing. They headed into the ice cream parlor and waited in the long line.</p>
<p>“So when does your family leave?” Sam asked.</p>
<p>“Tomorrow,” Aisha said a bit sadly.</p>
<p>“Oh, wow, that’s so soon,” Sam solemnly said.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m supposed to start at my new school on Monday, so we’re hoping to officially move tomorrow to get settled in. All of our stuff is pretty much already at the new house, but it will help to organize my room and figure out my route to school — things like that,” she explained.</p>
<p>“Yeah I get that. Are you ready?” Sam asked.</p>
<p>Aisha took in a breath and hesitated for a second. “I’m not sure,” she chuckled slightly. “I mean, I am excited in a way. They have a really good science department there and a really competitive robotics team that I want to check out, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I had a pretty sucky experience in high school until I joined Cobra Kai and gave Yasmin a front wedgie, so I feel like without that rep, these kids are going to think I’m just the same loser fat girl who likes to make chemistry jokes that I was before. I kind of feel this pressure to reinvent myself again,” she answered shyly.</p>
<p>Sam felt bad for her friend. She didn’t realize how much Cobra Kai mattered to Aisha’s confidence in school. She felt terrible that she was a part of the bullying that made her confidence so shaken. Before high school, Aisha was always so strong and confident — at least that was how Sam viewed her. Although, hearing her express her fears opened her eyes to Aisha’s insecurities which seemed to be around for much longer than Sam thought.</p>
<p>“You don’t have to reinvent yourself. The way you are now is already badass and cool. You’ve always been that way for as long as I’ve known you, even without Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai just allowed you to feel comfortable with expressing yourself around more people. There’s no reason why you can’t still be comfortable doing that without everyone fearing your mean, front wedgie and right hook,” Sam joked. She hoped she could comfort her friend who she has known most of her life. Part of her, selfishly, wanted to show Aisha that she didn’t need Cobra Kai. All it has brought to Sam’s life was destruction and stress. </p>
<p>The girls moved up in line a little ways, but still a few people out from the top of the line.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Aisha smiled at her. “I know that you don’t like hearing about it, but Cobra Kai did help me a lot. It helped a lot of us. Sometimes all you need to feel better about yourself is going head to head with a bully and kicking the crap out of them.”</p>
<p>Sam chuckled a bit, but she wasn’t sure how to respond. <em>Yeah, getting revenge feels good, until it goes too far, and Cobra Kai went too far,</em> she thought.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, I know you don’t like hearing about Cobra Kai,” Aisha apologized.</p>
<p>“No, it’s okay,” Sam sighed, “It’s not that I don’t like hearing about it, it’s just, you have to understand, my whole life my dad has been sharing stories about Cobra Kai and all the horrors that come with it. And now with what has been happening with the trashing of our Dojo and just living in fear of what Cobra Kai will do to us if we come in contact with them now, I’m seeing for myself what Cobra Kai is capable of. I don’t think that any of you are bad people, but what you’re being taught isn’t okay. No mercy? Come on Aisha, do you think that’s right?” </p>
<p>The girls moved up in line a little further; they were next to order. “Actually, Sensei Lawrence had been trying to shift Cobra Kai away from that creed. He said that life isn’t black and white, and sometimes you do have to show mercy. Well, actually, I think what he said was that following the Cobra Kai rules to a T will make you an asshole, but same ordeal. It was Kreese who was trying to drill into us the no mercy ideology. That’s why Sensei Lawrence fired him,” Aisha explained.</p>
<p>“He fired him? But my dad said Kreese was there and threatened him last time he went over there.”</p>
<p>“Oh well, I didn’t hear about that, but last time I checked, Sensei Lawrence fired Kreese and then quit running Cobra Kai after what happened to Miguel. That’s what Hawk said at least.”</p>
<p>The girls went up to the counter as it was finally their turn. Their server turned around and revealed the face of a girl who neither were expecting to see.</p>
<p>Sam froze in fear upon seeing Tory’s face in front of her. She thought the girl was gone for good. She was expelled from school and put on probation instead of juvenile prison, but Sam couldn’t imagine her freely going about her business in public without some kind of supervision the way she was now. When she saw Tory’s face, Sam lost her ability to talk. She just stood there paralyzed as the memories of Tory grabbing her arm and stabbing her flashed through her mind.</p>
<p>“Oh, look who it is.” Tory said with an attitude in her tone.</p>
<p>Aisha’s eyes widened. She didn’t expect to see Tory either. After the fight at school she had tried to reach out to her to make sure she was okay, but the girl never responded. She honestly was a little put off by the blonde’s decision to attack her friend in school, but Tory and her had become good friends too, and she knew Sam wasn’t free from guilt in the matter either. However, when Tory never responded, she just figured the girl didn’t want anything to do with her anymore, and seeing her here with Sam probably didn’t make things better.</p>
<p>“Tory, um —” Aisha gulped, “We didn’t know you worked here.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, obviously. I had to pick up two jobs to pay my family’s bills. Luckily, I have more time on my hands since I <em>conveniently</em> was expelled from school,” she smirked in Sam’s direction.</p>
<p>Sam’s mouth went agape. There was so much she wanted to say in response, but the only words that came out were, “I’ll have a vanilla chocolate swirl with fresh strawberries in a medium waffle bowl.” She didn’t want to show Tory any weakness, but she also was too afraid to engage with her. Nothing good could come out of it.</p>
<p>Tory glared at her for a moment, caught off guard by her dismissive attitude. She wasn’t surprised though, Tory had long seen through Sam’s “perfect, good girl” attitude. In her mind, Sam was just a privileged, daddy’s girl who loved to go around preaching morals to those who were handed a lot less in life than she was. “You have nerve, LaRusso,” Tory threatened. </p>
<p>Sam had trouble keeping the frightened look from flashing over her face. </p>
<p>“Hey, how about we just go somewhere else?” Aisha whispered to her.</p>
<p>She couldn’t back down though. “No, this is our favorite place, I’m not going to let her take this from us too,” Sam said back, loud enough for Tory to hear.</p>
<p>Aisha sucked in a breath, hoping nothing bad would come out of this. “I’ll have the same thing as her but with chocolate jimmies instead of fruit.”</p>
<p>The two girls walked away and sat at the farthest table from the counter. “I’m sorry if you wanted to leave, I just couldn’t give her the satisfaction,” Sam explained when they sat down.</p>
<p>“I get it, don’t worry. Besides, this is supposed to be about us. I’m not letting something come between our friendship again.”</p>
<p>Sam smiled at her. She felt grateful for Aisha’s forgiveness and loyalty to her as a friend even though Sam hadn’t been as loyal previously. “You know, part of why I was so resentful of Tory from the beginning was because I felt like she was taking my place as your best friend,” Sam sheepishly admitted.</p>
<p>Aisha wrinkled her eyebrows and gave her a surprised look. “Sam, really? Why did you think that?”</p>
<p>“Well, because it was true, I guess,” Sam shrugged. “I was jealous that Tory could be the ‘fun’ or ‘dangerous’ friend for you that I wasn’t. I thought you liked hanging out with her better because she was closer to your Cobra Kai friends. You didn’t need me anymore.” Sam looked down at her ice cream and pushed the fruit around in the cup. </p>
<p>Aisha’s mouth fell open, but no words came out. In a way, it was true. She liked hanging out with Tory because she was dangerous and Aisha thought she was cool; she felt cool when she hung out with her, but it didn’t mean that she didn’t want to be Sam’s friend. The feelings that Sam had about her friendship with Tory reminded Aisha a lot of the way that she felt jealous when Sam started hanging out with girls like Moon and Yasmin. She thought that Sam wouldn’t like her anymore because she wasn’t pretty enough or cared about things like fashion. </p>
<p>“I didn’t realize you felt that way, I’m sorry,” Aisha said. “It’s kind of ironic because that’s how I felt when you started to hang out with Yasmin and Moon,” she admitted. “I thought that you wouldn’t need me anymore.”</p>
<p>“I know, and I realized that after I felt this way about you and Tory together. I’m sorry too,” Sam apologized. “I think I just got so used to having you around when I needed you that I took our friendship for granted. When Yasmin and Moon started showing interest in being my friends I felt...I don’t know...special, I think. I didn’t know I cared about being popular, but it was kind of nice to feel that way. Then guys like Kyler started giving me attention — it was misguided, but I liked the way it felt. I’m sorry that I didn’t realize soon enough how much more important your friendship is to me.”</p>
<p>There was a wash of clean air between the two friends as they finally confronted their mistakes which held them back from relieving the tension. </p>
<p>“Thank you, I accept your apology,” Aisha laughed lighthearted. “And I hope you can accept mine too. I think the reason why I started hanging out more with Cobra Kai was partly because deep down I knew it made you jealous,” she admitted with guilt. “They are my friends, but I should’ve respected why you didn’t want to be in the same circle as them and chose you more often than I did.”</p>
<p>“And I accept your apology,” Sam giggled. Both girls let out a big sigh, then laughed at their synchronization. “Ah I’m really happy we cleared that up,” she laughed. “And now we can focus on what’s important — our ice cream.”</p>
<p>The friends clinked spoons as a cheers to their renewed friendship. They both dug into their favorite ice creams, as it had been forever since they enjoyed them together. </p>
<p>“Okay, okay, but seriously now we need to get back to important things,” Aisha said with mock-seriousness. “What. Happened. Between. You. And Miguel?”</p>
<p>Sam momentarily choked on her ice cream. This was the kind of question she was afraid of. She couldn’t even sort out her feelings to explain them to herself, let alone try to explain them to someone else. “I…I’m not sure if I even know,” he answered as honestly as she could.</p>
<p>“Well something had to have happened. According to the story everyone is spreading, you and Miguel kissed?” Aisha asked for confirmation. She didn’t want to pressure her friend too much, but she did really want to know the truth of the situation. It was also important to her to help Sam sort things out if she was confused.</p>
<p>“Well, yeah, that — that did happen,” Sam sheepishly said. “It was the night of the party. I was really drunk from trying to one-up Tory in the one-legged drinking contest. Then I had just been told by you that Miguel gave back the medal of honor to Robby and he lied about it to me. So I went to sit down, and I don’t really remember what happened from there all that clearly, but Miguel came up to check on me, we talked a bit, I thanked him for giving us back the medal of honor, and suddenly I tripped and landed in his arms, and then we were kissing!” Sam spoke really fast.</p>
<p>“Oh my god, so you guys did cheat on Robby and Tory?” Aisha asked hesitantly.</p>
<p>A knot formed in the back of Sam’s throat as the depth of her actions started to sink in. “Yeah. I guess, technically we did, but I feel terrible about it. It shouldn’t have happened. I don’t know why I kissed him — I was really drunk, and not that that is an excuse, but I just think it was a bad situation that I put myself in,” Sam tried to reason.</p>
<p>“Well, do you have feelings for Miguel?” </p>
<p>Sam paused; she didn’t know the answer. Her feelings were so twisted and tainted by the school fight, her hatred for Cobra Kai, and her jealousy of Tory that she couldn't decipher her true feelings. </p>
<p>“I think so?” She responded quietly. “But I don’t want to. I really like Robby, he just sees all the good in me and I feel special when I’m with him. He wants to protect me and I want him to feel special and loved too; he deserves that,” Sam gushed. Her feelings for Robby were real, and she hated that her heart complicated things with feelings for Miguel.</p>
<p>Aisha nodded her head slowly taking in what Sam was saying. Her heart hurt for her friend, and she wished that she could help her, but it was becoming evident that this wasn’t going to be a simple task.</p>
<p>“It sounds like you really like him,” she offered.</p>
<p>“I do,” Sam said.</p>
<p>Aisha hesitated. “Then why did you kiss Miguel?”</p>
<p>“I —” Sam stuttered. “I was jealous. Seeing him with Tory, it made me mad, and I felt like she didn’t deserve him. He deserved better,” Sam tried to keep her voice down for fear of Tory overhearing their conversation. </p>
<p>“I think I get it,” Aisha comforted. “Have you seen Miguel since the...you know...accident?” </p>
<p>“I did, I visited him last week actually. I was planning on going to see him again once he gets his surgery too,” Sam said.</p>
<p>“Were there any sparks there?”</p>
<p>“Well, we had a nice conversation to just clear the air and it honestly felt really good. He comforts me, and I feel safe when I’m with him. I don’t know, I guess there was something there, but neither of us were really ready to talk about our feelings or what happened,” Sam explained. She started to smile thinking about her conversation with Miguel. She genuinely did feel really good walking out of his hospital room that day. It was the first sense of relief that she had since the traumatic event. </p>
<p>Aisha blew air through her lips. “Yeah, man, this is complicated, dude,” she laughed a bit.</p>
<p>Sam chuckled, “Tell me about it! And I don’t even know how the boys feel. I mean I talked briefly to Robby before he turned himself in and it’s going to be awhile before we can really be together again anyways. As much as I like them both, I kind of just want to take a break from all this drama for a bit.”</p>
<p>“I don’t blame you. I mean, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous about the fact you have two boys literally fighting over you, but I get that this isn’t the position you really want to be in.”</p>
<p>“Oh come on, when you go to Topanga High and show all those boys how epic you can be at karate and robotics, they aren’t going to be able to control themselves,” Sam laughed. Both of the girls laughed and then moved onto a much more lighthearted subject. </p>
<p>They continued to eat their ice cream while reminiscing about the old times. By the time both of their bowls were empty, their faces hurt from laughing so much at their funny past-selves. </p>
<p>“I really wish you weren’t leaving,” Sam said after their laughter had died down. </p>
<p>“I know,” Aisha sighed. “I don’t want to have to start all over at some new place.”</p>
<p>“Well, I don’t think this is goodbye for us. I know it’s like two hours away but I still really want to hang out with you every now and then if you’ll have me,” Sam offered her a small smile. </p>
<p>Aisha smiled back, “Of course, I’m really glad we made up, I wouldn’t want to lose you as my friend again,” she agreed. </p>
<p>“Maybe once you’re all settled and have all the ‘cool spots of Topanga’ mapped out, I could drive out there to visit you for a weekend or something,” Sam giggled. </p>
<p>“That sounds perfect,” Aisha smiled. </p>
<p>The two discarded their empty cups in the trash along with their napkins and headed out of the store. On their way out, Sam could sense eyes burning into her back. She gave one last look to the counter to see Tory glaring at her from behind the register. Sam squinted, and then shook her head, leaving the store. </p>
<p>——————————————————————————————————————————-</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Not next chapter, but the one AFTER the next will have a really sweet Sam and Miguel scene -- so stay tuned!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Robby's Journal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Robby experiences some trouble during his first week in the detention center, so he discovers a new way of releasing his emotions.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Shorter update, but I'm going to try to post tomorrow too. That moment when your writing exercise to get into the character's mindset becomes a major plot point...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been close to a week now that Robby was in the detention center. He hated every minute of it. </p>
<p>When he was off on his own trying to run away, the whole process was so exhausting that he didn’t give a lot of time to think about what happened, except for the quiet moments of trying to fall asleep at night or easy drives. Here, however, he only had time to think. </p>
<p>It wasn’t that he was comfortable here: the beds were hard; everyone smelled, even though there were showers; and a few of the guys here already seemed to have it out for him, making his life living hell. But overall there wasn’t much to do. </p>
<p>He tried to fill most of his days with community service to take time off from his stay, but the sign up sheet filled up extremely quickly, so he had to be diligent about getting his name on there. Robby started writing down his thoughts in an old notebook given to him when he arrived. It was the only way for him to cope with his thoughts and heavy emotions.</p>
<p>His entries started as letters to Sam. He wanted to talk to her, but since she hadn’t been around to visit yet, or bothered giving him a call, he decided to get out the feelings he needed to in letters. Eventually, they turned more into ramblings, but he still addressed them to her because it was the easiest way for him to express himself.</p>
<p>When he wasn’t writing, his time was just going from one room to the next to sit at some table and pretend to do whatever activity was handed to him. </p>
<p>No one really cares whether he was benefiting here. This wasn’t like school where the staff were paid to look out for you. It was quite the opposite, in that some of the guards purposefully turned a blind eye to some of the wrongdoings happening to other inmates. Robby thought he liked it better when no one cared about whether he was excelling in his life. He quit school and became a delinquent because he hated always being checked up on by teachers and guidance counselors. Even when his dad decided to randomly show up as a father and told him to go back to school, he hated him for it even more. </p>
<p>But after experiencing some real guidance from Mr. LaRusso and learning how it feels to be cared for by his family, he doesn’t want to go back to places like this where no one cares if he is dead or alive tomorrow. </p>
<p>It’s scary for him to admit. Even though he had a nice conversation with Mr. LaRusso and brief contact with Sam, he can’t help but feel they were all just pretending to be nice to him. Robby keeps replaying his dad’s words in his mind: <em>“You have to watch out for the LaRusso’s” </em></p>
<p>People like him and people like the LaRusso’s don’t often help each other. Maybe they worked so hard to get him to turn himself in because they just wanted him out of their lives forever. </p>
<p>That thought made Robby’s heart ache. </p>
<p><em>They haven’t visited me yet like they said they would,</em> he thought. Unfortunately, more and more signs pointed to the idea that he was once again forgotten about. </p>
<p>Robby’s pained expression caught the eye of one of the inmates who had been giving him a lot of trouble recently. </p>
<p>“Oh what’s the matter, Robby-boy, did your mommy leave you now too?” The inmate, Shawn, called out to him. Shawn and his friends cackled together, high-fiving like they won something.</p>
<p>Robby glared and then ignored them. He didn’t want any trouble, and he had no idea why these guys decided to pick on him. Maybe it was for his punchable face that he’s been known to have. He turned away and tried to take advantage of the computer time he had at the moment. Since Sam had been sending him emails previously, he was hoping to communicate with her for the rest of his time here through email. </p>
<p>He logged into his Google Account and scanned through the emails left unread. To his surprise, there was a recent email from Sam with the subject line: <em>I hope everything is going okay :)</em></p>
<p>He selected the email to open it and read what she wrote. He was just getting through the first sentence when suddenly his screen went black. He looked up confused and pissed.</p>
<p>“What the hell?” Robby asked aloud.</p>
<p>“Oh, sorry, were you using that?” Shawn asked sarcastically. “I figured I’d do you a favor and stop you from reading a break up email from your girlfriend,” he cackled.</p>
<p>Robby didn’t understand where Shawn was getting all of these personal insults from. He had never had a conversation with the guy, and even if he did, he would never tell him about his greatest fears or broken home life.</p>
<p>That was until Robby noticed his notebook hanging out of Shawn’s right hand. Robby’s blood boiled as he saw him careless holding all of his deepest secrets. The last thing Robby ever wanted to do was give someone more information to use against him. </p>
<p>“Hey,” Robby shouted at the guys. “Give that back,” he said sternly, eyes narrowed.</p>
<p>Shawn looked at the notebook with false-ignorance. “Oh, you mean this?” He pointed to the notebook, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was yours, I thought it was just the worst story ever written,” he snickered. “The main character is such a pussy. Here, I’ll just put it back where it belongs,” Shawn threw the notebook into the trash can on the other side of the room.</p>
<p>Robby’s teeth grinded and his fists clenched by his side. He exhaled a fierce breath through his nose, seething with anger. Looking around the room at the other guys, Robby tried to decide whether he would be able to take them all on by himself. He remembered what Mr. LaRusso said to him in the car, that fighting violence with violence doesn’t fix the problem. With reluctance, he unclenched his fists and walked away to grab the notebook out of the trash and left the room.</p>
<p>Dodging around the corner to make it out of harm’s way, he quickly leaned against the wall and immediately flipped through the pages to make sure everything was still intact. He cringed at the crude annotations made in the margins of his heartfelt letters. Luckily, they were made in pencil so he could erase them, but it still pissed him off beyond belief. </p>
<p>He decided to forget about checking his email for now, and instead returned to his writing.</p>
<p>
  <em>Dear Sam,</em>
</p>
<p><em>I just saw your email. I haven’t had a chance to respond yet, but no, everything is not going okay. It is pretty grim here, and I really miss you. The other day, I was thinking back to that time when we first started dating and wanted to get out of your house to hang out together without your family around so we offered to go to the grocery store to run errands for everyone. Your mom gave us this huge list with a bunch of stuff on it that I had never heard of before. You laughed at me at first, but then you went around the store, teaching me about all those different kinds of laundry detergents and “no antibiotic” meats (which by the way I still think is a scam), and I remember feeling amazed at how you could make me feel so comfortable with being so different from you. </em><br/>	<em>I know we both grew up in completely different worlds, but instead of not being good enough, you made me feel needed. I don’t really know how to describe it. It’s like I have a purpose when I am with you, and all of a sudden my actions make sense. </em><br/>	<em>I wish you would come see me. There are so many things I want to say to you and apologize for. Once I get out of here, I’m going to come over to see you immediately so we can talk. I just want us to be okay.</em><br/><em>Robby</em></p>
<p>He closed his notebook and sighed. It was agonizing to have so many feelings and not be able to act on any of them. Restraint was never really Robby’s strong suit, although it’s been becoming a necessary learning exercise in his day-to-day affairs. Fortunately, writing his thoughts down has provided him with an outlet to express the feelings that he couldn’t act on. It was probably the only reason why he hadn’t clocked those guys earlier.</p>
<p>There was one part of Robby’s feelings that he had been neglecting diving into. It was something that he has pushed down for so long that pulling it out of the hole he’s buried it in seemed more troubling than leaving it to do its slow, emotional damage.</p>
<p>“It” was his dad. It really bothered Robby that his dad hasn’t tried to reach out once to him. He knew that Miguel was his priority, but Robby thought after their one good day on the first day of school, that maybe it would be convincing enough to want to repair things with him. Apparently, Robby was misled. </p>
<p>Just like every other time in his life, his dad wasn’t there for him when he needed him most. </p>
<p>Robby had thought about writing his feelings out in a letter to his dad. Every time he considered it, it just felt like too much effort to go through all of that headspace. <em>And for what purpose?</em> He thought. His dad doesn’t care about the way he makes him feel. If he did, he would be here now, and he would make the effort to show Robby that he loves him. <em>If he loves me,</em> he added as an afterthought.</p>
<p>Before he could stop himself, Robby had turned a page in his notebook and began writing. </p>
<p>
  <em>Dad,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I don’t know what to say. I’m mad at you. I’ve always been mad at you, and I need you to know that. I need you to realize how pissed off I am that you abandoned me from the beginning. You left me and my mom to fend for ourselves. Did you even want me? Where do I rank in your list of biggest mistakes of your life?</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Do you know that you’re the reason I’m so screwed up? I feel like my whole life I’ve been trying to seek approval and love from someone who never gave a shit about me. At least not enough to actually be there. And yet, even if I got approval from you. If you did tell me you were proud. It would mean absolutely nothing to me. Because I don’t respect you. And I hate you for that. I hate that I can’t look up to you and don’t get to tell people how much I admire my dad. </em>
  <br/>
  <em>Dad. I want to love you, and I want you to want to love me. We don’t have what other fathers and sons have with each other, and I’ve learned to accept that. But I just wish, for once, that we could be comfortable trying. I want you to show up one day and make me believe that you aren’t going to abandon me again. And I want it to be true. </em>
  <br/>
  <em>The fact that you didn’t even try to see if I was okay after the fight hurt like hell. After that day we had, I thought we could start rebuilding and maybe be there for each other. I was obviously mistaken. You care about yourself and Miguel way more than you care about me. Apparently I’m just a toss away. Your mistake that keeps coming back to haunt you. And I hate you for that. I hate that you had me just to throw me away. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Robby</em>
</p>
<p>Robby tried to stop the tears from welling up in his eyes after he finished writing. If someone caught him crying he would definitely be in for a beating, so he had to make sure that his emotions were kept under wraps. He quickly wiped both his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffed away the rest of his tears. The release of his emotions felt somewhat empowering for him. He hadn’t known that writing this stuff down could do this for him, but now that he’s started, he almost didn’t want to stop. Usually he found his emotions coming out through clenched fists and grinded teeth; either that or with snide comments to someone who gets in his way. But this was a different kind of release. It wasn’t anger he was channeling; it was insecurities and sadness. It felt different to tap into.</p>
<p>A supervisor came in and directed him to head to the cafeteria, as it was now lunchtime. When he stood up, Robby felt like he could stand a little taller.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you liked this side of Robby! He has so many emotions and so much time on his hands, I feel like this is the only way of coping, but I don't know, maybe I am projecting lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Octopus Brownies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sam visits Miguel at the hospital after his surgery, and they find solace in each other's shared experience.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here is the Sam and Miguel scene I kept hinting at which I thought was so cute! I want to encourage everyone, even if each chapter doesn't feature your favorite pairing or character, to read them anyways with an open mind because it's all a part of a greater narrative, and I think when you have the inner monologue of each character you understand their actions a lot more, which is likely why certain characters rub us the wrong way on the show -- because we don't get that explanation visually.</p>
<p>But that being said, I'm not forcing anyone to read anything! I'd rather you opt out of certain chapters than read something you don't like. So just a suggestion, take it or leave it :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Miguel had got out of surgery a few hours ago, and now he was back to lying in the hospital bed, bored out of his mind. </p>
<p>He had been mindlessly watching sports on the TV in his room. After his surgery, his doctor came back and checked his nerve endings in his hands, feet, and legs. So far his upper body has mostly fully recovered, which the doctor said is a good sign that the surgery was successful in restoring his body mostly back to normal. When he checked his legs and feet though, Miguel felt nothing. </p>
<p>At first, Miguel tried not to have too many expectations for himself regarding his recovery, mostly for his own sake. He didn’t want to be disappointed when the inevitable news about his condition came. No one has told him yet that he will never walk again, but he can sense it in everyone’s timid behavior around him; their sugar-coated words; the complex language the doctor used to describe his current status. </p>
<p>Miguel looked outside the window of his room where his mom sat with his grandma. They were holding his Yaya’s rosary beads while quietly whispering words to one another with their eyes closed. They each held onto one another’s hand like it was their life support. </p>
<p>He shook his head silently, but Miguel was pissed. He could tell that the news following his surgery wasn’t good, and it sucked that no one would tell him the truth. He would probably spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, and never do karate again.</p>
<p>Miguel swallowed a lump in his throat as he considered the possibility of never going back to doing what he loved. </p>
<p>His mom hated it when he asked about karate or Sensei, but they both became huge parts of his life that he wasn’t willing to give up just yet. It stung that Sensei hasn’t been here yet to visit him. Part of him was still pissed at his sensei for the outcome of the fight, but deep down, Miguel knew that Johnny wasn’t to blame. He was still conflicted though; should he show mercy? Or do all paths lead him to becoming wheelchair bound? Sensei Lawrence managed to be there for him and guide him to make bold decisions to turn his life around the entire time he’s known him, and yet, here he is now, desperately in need of guidance, and he hasn’t bothered to show up.</p>
<p>He really hoped he had a good reason for it.</p>
<p>The knock on his door made Miguel turn his head towards the doorway. To his surprise, entering his room was Sam, carrying a platter of brownies. He smiled when he saw her, almost completely forgetting about his negative thoughts toward his current condition. </p>
<p>“Hi, I hope it’s okay that I just walk in here. I was going to text you or something first, but I wasn’t sure what time I would be able to come by until like 10 minutes before I had to leave so,” Sam rambled.</p>
<p>Miguel smirked at her and took in her appearance. Previously visiting him, she had worn long sleeves so he couldn’t see the scar on her arm. Now it was clear how deep the slice must have been to heal the way it did. </p>
<p>“That’s alright, now is good. It’s not like I’m going anywhere,” he weakly joked.</p>
<p>“How did the surgery go? It was today right?” She asked.</p>
<p>“Yeah, it was today. It went well I guess, but they said they won’t really know until further out when I start getting physical therapy and stuff. So, for now it just is what it is,” he replied.</p>
<p>Sam nodded and tried to think of what to say to him. Things were a little awkward with neither of them knowing how to act around one another. “Well you’re a fighter so I think you have it in you to pull through just fine. I, um, brought these for you,” she held up the tray of brownies.</p>
<p>Miguel looked closer and saw that the brownies were placed in little cupcake liners that had octopus patterns on them. His face broke into a grin and Sam’s face lit up when she saw his reaction.</p>
<p>“Awww look at those! I can’t believe you found octopus cupcake liners,” he said.</p>
<p>Sam laughed, “Well, I have been known to be pretty crafty on Amazon,” she joked.</p>
<p>They both laughed, catching each other’s eye for a lingering moment. Sam broke the trance, grabbing a brownie to offer Miguel. </p>
<p>Miguel accepted it and took a big bite. “As you can see,” he said through a mouthful of brownie, “I am already feeding myself now,” he laughed.</p>
<p>Sam giggled. “Wow, yes, I was just about to compliment how excellent your form is.” </p>
<p>“Ha, thanks,” he laughed.</p>
<p>“But seriously, Miguel, that’s a big deal. It may seem small, but after what happened, even the little things are really amazing.”</p>
<p>Miguel sighed, placing his brownie down for a second. “Yeah, I guess so. I don’t know, it’s weird, my whole life I feel like I’ve been trying to push myself harder to beat the odds. Every school I moved to, teachers put me in the lower level courses without even knowing me or what I could do, just because they assumed I was the Latino kid who didn’t speak any English. So I fought to hide my accent, I made them put me in the upper level courses, and worked my butt off to prove to everyone that I was just as good as everyone else. Then with moving here, I had Kyler and those stupid guys giving me a hard time every day. I had to literally fight just to keep them off my back. Sensei Lawrence did a lot for me to teach me how to stand up for myself and not be pushed around,” he swallowed, “And now I’m here. I have this horrible feeling like all the progress I fought to make in my life is just going to disappear. I’m starting over,” he finished, looking down at the half-eaten brownie in his hand. He ran his finger over the crinkled octopus liner.</p>
<p>“Oh, Miguel.” Sam listened to his words and her heart broke for him. During the time they were dating, she hadn’t learned everything about his life before coming to West Valley. She knew he was getting bullied by some of the jerks at school, and that him and his mom were originally from Ecuador and had moved around a lot before coming here, but she didn’t realize the impact that this all had on his life. He never complained, and she never asked. “You’re not starting over. I mean, physically, it’s going to take a lot of work to get back to where you once were, but this is just making you that much stronger. It sucks, don’t get me wrong, it’s not simple or easy or exciting in any way, but you’re going to do it. And when you come back from this, you’re going to be leaps and bounds ahead from where you were before; physically and mentally.”</p>
<p>Sam looked at him genuinely in the eyes, hoping that her words meant something to him. He glanced up and caught her stare, holding it for a moment before looking down again. “Thanks, Sam. It means a lot to have your confidence in me,” he looked up again and smiled at her with a small smile.</p>
<p>Sam got lost in their trance for a minute, softly smiling at each other. “Yeah, well, that’s what friends are for, right?” Sam broke their trance, shyly tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.</p>
<p>‘<em>Friends</em>’, Miguel thought. He was surprised by the disappointment he felt hearing her call them friends. He supposed he should’ve expected it. Technically neither of them had broken up with their significant others officially, but their kiss complicated things, and they never had a chance to talk about their feelings.</p>
<p>“Right, that’s what friends are for,” Miguel responded, trying to hide the disappointment from his voice. “These are really good brownies by the way,” he said after a beat of silence.</p>
<p>Sam giggled. “They should be, I paid, like, 10 dollars for them,” she admitted.</p>
<p>Miguel gawked, “What? You mean you didn’t bake these? You just bought them and then placed them in these wrappers to make them look homemade,” he mused, laughing at her.</p>
<p>Sam held her hands up in surrender, “Hey, I didn’t have time to bake them! And besides, the presentation is worth, like, 50% of the points for effort,” she defended herself.</p>
<p>He shook his head, “I’m just so disappointed in you, Sam. You know I really thought you cared about me,” he joked.</p>
<p>“What? I do care about you—”</p>
<p>“— no, no, no, not enough to make me <em>homemade brownies</em>,” he cut her off. </p>
<p>“Okay, fine, next time I’ll bring <em>homemade</em> brownies,” she conceded with a huff.</p>
<p>Miguel smirked, ‘<em>next time</em>’, he thought. He liked the idea of their visits becoming regular things. He was silent for a moment, and Sam realized what she implied with her words.</p>
<p>“Well, I mean, if you want me to come back,” she clarified. </p>
<p>“I do, I’d like it a lot,” he smiled at her. “Actually, I’m supposed to get out of here by the end of the week, so maybe next time we wouldn’t have to be in a hospital.”</p>
<p>“Oh that’s great. Do you know when you will maybe be back at school?” She asked.</p>
<p>“I don’t have a date set yet, but my mom and I were talking about maybe after a few physical therapy sessions, if I make enough progress, I might be able to return by the end of this month. I don’t really want to need a nurse to come to school with me for things like going to the bathroom or taking notes and stuff, so I’m hoping that the surgery helped, and I will make a lot of progress by then,” he said with his eyes fixed straight ahead as if he was looking towards his future.</p>
<p>“I think that’s definitely possible,” she nodded. “I had my first day back on Monday,” she said, pushing another strand of hair behind her ear.</p>
<p>Miguel perked up, “You did? How was that?”</p>
<p>“Weird.” She said simply. “I thought I was ready, but when I got back, everyone was staring at me, and then when I looked around, everything reminded me of what happened. It was like my brain started replaying all the events again. I would get hurt, you would fall, and Robby would run,” her eyes welled up with tears. She stopped talking and bit her lip to try to contain her emotions.</p>
<p>Miguel reached out to her, now able to grasp her hand with his own. “I’m sorry Sam. You’re not alone, though. I haven’t been back to school yet, but when the nurses move me through the halls and we pass by the stairs or a railing —“ he paused, swallowing the lump in his throat, “I tense up and it feels hard to breath. I have to close my eyes, but even then my mind just replays me falling over the railing, and that moment when I realized I was probably going to die,” he sucked in a breath sharply, momentarily losing control of his breathing until Sam squeezed his hand back. He looked at her, and it brought him back. She held his hand, running her finger over the back of it as he slowly regained control of his breathing. </p>
<p>Silently, she shifted in her seat next to his bed so she could rest her head on his shoulder. The two held onto each other’s hands like they were the only thing keeping them grounded.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm excited for you all to read the next chapter! It's one I've been playing over in my head a bunch and writing it out felt really good. Here's a hint: Robby + Sam + Communication</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Showing Up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Broken face and broken hearted, Robby reaches a low point at the detention center. However, his spirits are lifted when he receives a phone call from a special someone...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I really like this chapter for Robby! I think he really needs to hear these things, even if they aren't all the easiest to hear.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Robby’s face was bruised and his lip busted up. He was laying in his hard bed, face down, trying to pretend to be asleep, but there was no way Robby was getting any sleep tonight. </p>
<p>The guys who had been taunting him his whole stay at the center decided to give him another beating today for trying to stand up for this poor soul who got in Shawn’s way. The guys tried to bash the kid’s head into a table when Robby swooped in and roundhouse kicked Shawn in the face. </p>
<p><em>Big mistake</em>, Robby thought. His nose twitched from where it had been slammed with the back of a metal chair. Robby thought he could take all those guys no problem, but he wasn’t ready to be picked up and tossed around the way they did with him. He managed to fight back considerably, but being severely out-numbered made it impossible to walk away unscathed.</p>
<p>It wasn’t even curfew yet, but he didn’t want to be up anymore. He was tired of existing. The constant looking over his shoulder and mewling around for some type of activity to take up his time was more draining than physical labor. At this point, he would much prefer to be in the Miyagi-Do backyard, waxing-on-and-off one thousand cars than put up with another week here in the detention center. </p>
<p>With all of his efforts trying to do community service, he managed to take off a week of his time, leaving him with about a week-and-a-half to go. Just a little bit longer, he thought. He’d like to say it would go by in a flash, but, really it wasn’t.</p>
<p>The phone rang in the hallway outside his group bedroom. Phone calls rarely came, he noticed, but when they did, it was often in the evening hours. There was a very small window of time for phone calls to be allowed through, which made it even more difficult for people to coordinate their daily schedules with the call times.</p>
<p>The guard on duty picked up the phone. She walked into the bedroom where Robby and a few other guys were. Robby’s ears perked up a bit when he heard her footsteps come in. He tried to not get too ahead of himself. He wasn’t the only one in the room and so far everyone he knows has ignored him during his stay. Although, it was nearly impossible to not let his mind wonder too much at the possibilities. </p>
<p>“Keene?” The guard said, making Robby’s head shoot up to make sure he heard her right. “Robby Keene, there is a call for you.”</p>
<p>Robby got up from his bed and started toward her. He had to hold himself steady by gripping the cinderblock wall as the blood all rushed to his head and he was reminded of the painful black eye and bruised jaw he was sporting. Walking off a bad knee, he limped over to the phone that the woman held out for him.</p>
<p>“You have 15 minutes,” she said, handing him the phone.</p>
<p>Robby took a deep breath and put the phone to his ear. “Hello?”</p>
<p>“Robby,” Sam breathed on the other end of the call.</p>
<p>His head spun and he felt flutters in his stomach when he heard her voice. The remembrance of their time spent laughing on the floor of the dojo or sneaking kisses in the corner of the LaRusso kitchen came rushing back to him with the sound of her voice. For a second, he forgot about the pain from his beating earlier.</p>
<p>“Sam,” he responded with a loss of words. “It feels really good to hear your voice. You have no idea,” he said.</p>
<p>“I know,” she sighed. “I am so sorry I haven’t been able to call or visit you like we said. Apparently only parents or guardians can visit, and then if we want to come, we have to go through this whole process and wait on this really long call, and my dad has tried, but he just gets a machine that tells him to wait for his turn and he’s caller, like, 67, and — I’m really sorry,” she rambled.</p>
<p>Robby laughed at her long-winded explanation. “That’s alright, I—I didn’t know that, but I’m glad that you weren’t just blowing me off,” he admitted.</p>
<p>“No, we wouldn’t do that, Robby,” Sam said.</p>
<p><em>That’s what everyone says</em>, he thought. His track record with people saying they will be there for him and then not showing up has been pretty poor. It’s hard for him to believe that he is worth anything to anyone.</p>
<p>“I would understand if you didn’t want to come visit. I’ve really screwed up,” he admitted quietly.</p>
<p>“No, Robby, we all screwed up, trust me,” she huffed with some form of a laugh. Robby could hear her inhale a deep breath. “I should never have gotten that drunk at the party, and I should have listened to you when you were just trying to take care of me, and that kiss with Miguel…” her voice trailed off. Robby could hear her getting worked up, and he imagined tears forming in her eyes. “That kiss was a mistake. I never wanted to hurt you.” She finished quietly.</p>
<p>Robby took a moment to digest. He wished he couldn’t feel their time together ticking. 15 minutes was barely enough for a brief update, nevermind a heartfelt resolution.</p>
<p>“Sam,” he sighed. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still hurt by your kiss with Miguel.” He ran a hand through his hair, cringing when he felt the egg-sized welt forming on the side of his head. “But I know that I’m not innocent in this either. I lied to you about Miguel returning the medal of honor because I was afraid you would choose him over me. He gets everything; he had you first, he has a solid home and parents; he has my dad,” his voice rose by the end. He hated that he got so worked up by this, but he couldn’t help the emotions as they came. “I didn’t want him to suddenly redeem himself in your eyes because then he’d have one more thing that’s important to me.” He realized how pathetic he sounded, whining about his dad and broken home life, but his emotions were coursing through him like he was writing in his journal. The fact that he couldn’t look Sam in the eye while talking likely helped.</p>
<p>Sam was silent a moment, trying to gather her feelings on everything he said. It angered her to be thought of as just a tally mark in his competition with Miguel, but she also knew how much deeper his feelings were. Robby had been ruined by years of disappointment and neglect. Of course that would be a fear for him.</p>
<p>“And now he has nothing, do you feel like you’ve won now?” Sam asked before she could stop herself.</p>
<p>Robby’s eyebrows scrunched up. <em>Was she really defending him?</em> He thought. “I didn’t want to hurt him, Sam. Not like that. Is that really what you think of me?”</p>
<p>“No, I know that, I’m sorry. But can’t you see how damaging this competitive mindset is? You don’t have to one-up Miguel. I liked you for how you made me feel, not because of anything to do with Miguel,” she said.</p>
<p>“So then why did you kiss him?” Robby asked, a little more harshly than he wished. He wished this conversation could be happening in person instead of over the phone. When they were together, he could sense her feelings. It was an instinct they both developed from training together so much. She went left, he went right; they always knew how to balance each other out. At the moment they felt out of sync.</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I’m still trying to figure that out,” she answered honestly.</p>
<p>It hurt Robby to hear that. His hopelessly optimistic side was willing to believe that the kiss was Miguel’s fault. Sam was drunk and couldn’t read the signs, and then he kissed her. This way meant that she might have wanted to kiss him. Robby didn’t want to consider what it meant for them if she actually willingly kissed Miguel.</p>
<p>“5 minutes,” the guard warned.</p>
<p>Robby sighed, “Look, we only have five minutes left, I don’t want to spend the remainder of our call arguing. I’m not mad at you, Sam, I’m just hurt. I would rather finish talking about this when you have a better grasp of your feelings and I can be there with you in person,” he said.</p>
<p>“Me too,” she said relieved. “So, how much longer do you have to go?”</p>
<p>“About a week? A week and a half? I have some community service hours coming up and I think I can get it down to a week.”</p>
<p>“Oh, that’s not bad,” she said, hopeful.</p>
<p>Robby chuckled lightly, “Yeah, try to tell that to my broken face,” he joked.</p>
<p>“What?” She asked, concerned.</p>
<p>He sighed, wishing he said nothing. “There’s some guys here, they — seem to have it out for me for some reason. I’ve suffered a number of beatings,” Robby tried to keep his voice low and look over his shoulder.</p>
<p>“Oh Robby,” Sam gushed. “That’s not fair. I’m really sorry, I wish I could help you somehow.” Her heart ached for the boy she cared so much about. For everything he went through, he still didn’t complain.</p>
<p>“You can, actually. Just, keep writing to me? I can’t always answer because my time to check my emails is short, but I like reading them. It helps me remember the light at the end of the tunnel,” he smiled, for the first time since he’s been here.</p>
<p>“You got it,” she smirked back. Sam sighed. “Take care of yourself, Robby. We’re all looking forward to when you come back,” she said,</p>
<p>“Thanks,” he said. He opened his mouth to speak again when the guard came over and told him his time was up. “I have to go now. Thanks for calling, Sam. I hope I can see you soon.”</p>
<p>“Me too. Bye,” she hung up.</p>
<p>Robby inhaled and ran his hands through his hair as he leaned back against the doorframe. He didn’t want to think about anything other than how good she made him feel when they talked, and how much he missed just sitting next to her, staring into each other’s eyes. Except his mind couldn’t shake the way she defended Miguel from him. Or her vagueness when he asked about her feelings. Caring about him doesn’t mean she still wants to be with him, and if he was her, he wouldn’t want to be with some screw up either. </p>
<p>
  <em>“And now he has nothing…” </em>
</p>
<p>That’s not true. He has everyone’s sympathy; his dad is probably standing vigil at his bedside every night, which is why he hasn’t shown up for Robby yet. Robby is made out to look like the monster karate student who tried to kill someone, whereas Diaz gets to be the innocent underdog, who, against all odds, manages to recover and walk again. He’ll win the girl and come out of it all with his dad on his side. </p>
<p>Robby shook his head. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Can’t you see how damaging this competitive mindset is…” </em>
</p>
<p>Sam was right, if he wanted to do better, he had to stop comparing himself to Miguel. That is what got him into this mess, and it would just keep eating him alive unless he could make things better for himself.</p>
<p>Robby headed off to take a shower. Hopefully he could scrub some of the blood off his face and soothe the muscles that ached. </p>
<p>When he got back, it was close to curfew and another guard had come into his room to read off the itinerary/chore list for the next day. </p>
<p>“...finally, visitation list for tomorrow morning: Silva, Landry, and Keene. You all have visitors, be in the general activity center for 9 am sharp.”</p>
<p>Robby’s head snapped up. “Wait, does it say who is visiting me?” He asked the guard.</p>
<p>The guard looked down at his clipboard. “Lawrence, John.”</p>
<p>He walked back to his bed, dazed. <em>I can’t believe it,</em> he thought. His dad showed up.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter is the visit with Johnny &lt;3 Stay tuned!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Taking Chances</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Robby waits for his dad to show up for him; will Johnny finally be there for Robby?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy Valentine's Day! Here's a quick installment for this love-filled day.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Robby had a hard time sleeping last night because of his anticipation about the visit with his dad that is supposed to happen this morning. He was nervous to see him again. There was a strange combination of hope and cynicism floating through his nerves about the upcoming visit.</p>
<p>His last interaction with his dad was actually good. Probably the first time in his life that he was able to look back on a memory with his dad and call it “good”. It was fleeting, though, and then Robby had to go and screw it up by kicking his dad’s best student over a railing. </p>
<p>Robby sighed while putting away his mop in the closet. It was his turn to clean the bathrooms this morning, which was probably the worst chore on the rotation, although Robby didn’t really care. Maybe it was due to his training in manual labor for Miyagi-Do, but he didn’t mind having to be put to work. Except, the dullness of this work didn’t distract from his current anxiety.</p>
<p>It was 8:30 and his dad would be here soon — hypothetically — and he needed to get showered and head to the visitation room.</p>
<p>Robby finished his chores for the morning and got himself showered and dressed. He touched his bruised cheekbone and cut lip with his fingers lightly as he stared at his reflection in the blurry mirror. <em>His dad would probably ask why his face looked like this,</em> he thought. <em>Would he even believe me if I say I didn’t start the fight?</em> He wondered. He didn’t want to argue with his dad during their short visit, but he knew it was likely inevitable — especially when he shows up with a black eye.</p>
<p>Robby walked the rest of the way to the visitation room and signed in. He took a seat at the table with his number on it and waited.</p>
<p>He looked around the room, nervously ringing his hands together. His leg bounced and he wasn’t paying attention to it. <em>What if he doesn’t come?</em> He thought. Part of him seriously doubted that his dad wanted to be here. He never made the effort to show up for him before, why would this time be any different? Looking around the room at the other kids talking animatedly with their guests he started to feel embarrassed. He couldn’t believe he let himself get his hopes up for this. </p>
<p>He looked at the clock on the wall: 9:03</p>
<p>If he doesn’t show in seven minutes, then he’ll leave. <em>This embarrassment is too much</em>, he thought. </p>
<p>When he turned his head back to look towards the door, suddenly his dad came into view. Robby’s leg stilled and his mouth fell open.</p>
<p>Johnny came toward him being directed by a guard. The guard brought him to Robby’s table, then both men gave a nod of acknowledgement before the guard left Robby and Johnny alone.</p>
<p>Robby swallowed, his throat dry. He stood up awkwardly as his dad lingered near his table, shifting back and forth on his feet. Johnny unconfidently took a step toward Robby, reaching an arm out to pull him into a hug.</p>
<p>Robby compiled, letting his dad have his moment with his son. He hesitantly rested his head on his dad’s shoulder. Breathing in, he smelt the sour scent of sweat, cigarettes, and alcohol on his dad’s flannel. He knew his dad didn’t smoke — this was likely coming from hanging out in bars. When he pulled away, Robby got a look at his dad’s face and could see that his suspicions were right.</p>
<p>He wasn’t the only one sporting a black eye and bruises. Johnny looked like he had been hit by a truck. His forehead had a gash in it with dried blood. </p>
<p>They both sat down on opposite ends of the table, neither knowing what to say.</p>
<p>Robby didn’t want to be the one to make the first move.</p>
<p>“Your hair looks nice,” Johnny said, his leg bouncing under the table.</p>
<p>Robby rolled his eyes. “Thanks,” he deadbaned, crossing his arms.</p>
<p>“Come on, Robby, I don’t know how to do this,” Johnny said.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I know, being a dad was never your strong suit,” he mumbled, looking away.</p>
<p>Johnny heard it, but tried to ignore his son’s comment. He came here for a reason. He wanted to make something right, not worsen an already strained relationship. </p>
<p>“Hey, I’m proud of you for turning yourself in. It takes a big man to look at his mistake in the eye and do something about it. You did the right thing,” Johnny said sincerely. </p>
<p>Robby tried to think of the last time his dad said he was proud of him. Nothing came to mind. He had hoped that he would feel relieved when his dad said that to him, but he felt nothing. His words meant nothing. </p>
<p>“Why did it take you so long to come here? Did you even try to come look for me?” Robby spit out. He couldn’t control the anger in his voice.</p>
<p>Johnny was taken aback. He looked down at his hands feeling guilty. After the fight, Johnny ran too. Carmen didn’t want anything to do with him for what happened to Miguel, and he was pretty confident that’s how everyone felt about him at the moment as well. He thought about his son: the culprit of this mess; the one who everyone wanted to blame; the bad guy — an all too familiar reputation that Johnny hated to see reflected onto his son. </p>
<p>He blamed himself for this mess. Robby is a good kid, and if he didn’t have such a screw up for a father, he would have actually had the chance to prove that to everyone. </p>
<p>Johnny looked around the room, unable to meet Robby’s eyes. “I know. I screwed up,” his eyes met his son’s. “I thought I was doing the right thing by giving everyone space and trying to stay away, but you're my son, and I care about you, Robby. Even if you think I don’t, I…” he didn’t know the words to describe his feelings. I love you had never been in his vernacular growing up, and it still was absent even as an adult. He loved his son no doubt, but stringing those words together never came naturally for him. </p>
<p>Robby’s face was hard. “So what, what do you want then? You think we can just forget the first 16 years of my life when you were never around and start over?” He asked, crossing his arms. </p>
<p>“We had a good day together. I know that doesn’t make up for everything, but I thought it was a start, at least,” Johnny reasoned with him. “Please, Robby. I want to help. I want to be there for you,” he pleaded with his son. His foot shook under the table, waiting for the response.</p>
<p>A muscle in Robby’s forearm twitched as he tightened his fist slightly. It infuriated him that his dad would say these words to him. <em>But why?</em> He asked himself. <em>Isn’t this what I want? A relationship with my dad</em>, he thought. Robby took a moment thinking over Johnny’s words. His stance was unchanging, but his eyes were colored with apprehension. </p>
<p>“Look, this doesn’t mean we have to go to sports games or take my-selfie photos or whatever the heck those helicopter dads do now. All I’m saying is that after your time is finished here, you come live with me and I’ll take you to school and be there for you when you break your arm again or whatever it is next time, just let me try to be your dad again,” Johnny’s heart was beating faster than he could remember it ever beating before. He laid everything on the line and he was dangerously close to failing again.</p>
<p>Robby’s face cracked into a faint half-smile. He glanced off to the side before nodding slowly. “Okay,” he nodded. “We can try, but I don’t want to regret giving you a second chance,” he said seriously.</p>
<p>Johnny felt a pang in his heart, “I don’t want you to either,” he responded slowly. </p>
<p>A moment of silence hung in the air as the two men stared at each other, neither daring to make the next move. Before they knew it, a loud buzz was heard over the intercom, “That’s it for the visiting slot A. Say your goodbyes and thank you all for coming,” one of the guards mumbled over the speaker.</p>
<p>Standing up, Robby deeply inhaled and blew it out through his lips. Johnny ran a hand through his hair before taking a step toward his son once again, reaching out more confidently this time to pull him into a hug. In his dad’s embrace Robby felt some emotion rise up in his chest and his face get hot. He tried to discreetly wipe the corners of his eyes before the shimmer of tears became noticeable when they pulled apart. </p>
<p>“I have about a week to go, they’ll let you know ahead of time when my last day is,” Robby said, backing up from his dad.</p>
<p>“Alright, I’ll be there,” he looked him pointedly in the eyes. </p>
<p>They gave each other a half-smile and a nod before turning away to continue on with their days.</p>
<p>Robby left the visiting room with his hands in his pockets. He ran his index finger over the plastic cover of his little notebook and anxiously clicked the pen a few times in his other pocket. When he got back to his room, he whipped the notebook and pen out, then sat down on his bed and turned to a fresh page.</p>
<p>
  <em>Dear Dad,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Thanks for showing up for me today.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Love, Robby</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Maybe not how we typically think of a "Valentine's Day installment," but even without "I love you" or romance, putting in the effort to make amends, and being open to forgiveness, is probably the best gesture of love one could make. </p>
<p>Let's just hope Robby doesn't regret giving him this second chance!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. No Karate, Champ</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Miguel is finally home from the hospital and he wants to figure out why Johnny hasn't come to visit him yet.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>These next few chapters are going to be really important for the set up of the rest of the story. It might get a bit ugly, but don't worry, the real story has only just begun (@Kreese)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Miguel arrived home from the hospital yesterday afternoon, and today was his first morning waking up in his own bed. His mom and Yaya were so excited to have him home that they had checked up on him about 20 times last night to make sure he was comfortable. He really appreciated having such strong, loving female figures in his life. The way he could always count on his mom or Yaya to be there for him growing up filled the space that typically would’ve been empty without a father figure in his life.</p><p>He knew his mom’s story about his dad, and he was glad that he never met the asshole. His mom and Yaya were enough for him as far as Miguel was concerned.</p><p>That being said, there was something about the feeling of having a man to look up to that Miguel didn’t realize he missed until he met Sensei. Not that Sensei was always the exemplar of dignity and manhood, but he taught him things about standing up for yourself and commanding respect that changed the way Miguel saw himself. And in return, Miguel taught Johnny things about self-control and the internet that made Johnny a better person as well; or at least Miguel liked to think so.</p><p>It had been a month since his accident now, and there was still no sign of Sensei. Miguel was almost certain that he would show up one day at the hospital. <em>Didn’t he care about how I was doing?</em> He wondered. </p><p>Miguel knew that Johnny had a reputation for being flaky, but he was never that way to him. Johnny always tried his best to guide Miguel along the right path and be there when he needed him to be. This abandonment felt almost like a blatant betrayal. </p><p>Miguel looked up at the knock on his door. Carmen came through with a beaming smile holding a lap tray with some freshly made sweet quesadillas and a glass of orange juice.</p><p>“Hi Miggy, I heard you waking up so I made your favorite breakfast, just the way you like it,” she said sweetly, setting his tray off to the side so she could help get him propped up.</p><p>Since his surgery he had been gradually regaining movement throughout his body, but mostly through his arms and his torso. A few of his toes he could feel some sensation in, which the doctor said was a good sign, but it wasn’t enough movement to where he could move anything down there. According to his doctors, he was supposed to see the most improvement of movement within the first six months of injury, so he still had time before things really started looking grim.</p><p>“Thanks mom,” he smiled as she fixed him and brought his breakfast. He really missed their home cooked meals.</p><p>“Do you need anything else? You already have your computer and graphic novels, but I could roll the TV in here so you could watch the Dodgers game tonight,” Carmen suggested.</p><p>Miguel laughed at her excitement, “That’s okay, this is great. If need be I could pull it up on my laptop,” he smiled slightly up at her. She looked at him for a second, taking in his eyes and smile. They hadn’t been quite the same as they used to be, she noticed. She missed the boy that would come running through the kitchen, kiss her and her mother on the cheek, before showering and heading out to go play with his friends. Or when he could come home from practice and boast about his accomplishments. He just wasn’t her same Miggy.</p><p>Carmen cocked her head to the side. “Are you alright, honey?” She asked.</p><p>Miguel was caught off guard by her question. He should’ve known that he could never get anything past his mom; she knew him better than anyone else. “...have you heard anything from Sensei?” He asked hesitantly. He knew that his mom wasn’t Sensei’s biggest fan following the accident, but he wanted to believe that time had made her more understanding.</p><p>Her face flashed with anger, but she caught herself before her outburst. “Not anything recently, no,” she said, crossing her arms in front of herself.</p><p>The response made Miguel disappointed. He looked down hurt, “He didn’t ... check up on me at all while I was in the hospital?” He was confused and hurt and angry by this information, but something in him didn’t want to accept it yet.</p><p>Carmen sighed and uncrossed her arms with a shrug. “He tried to visit you at the beginning while you were in the ICU, but I told him we didn’t want to see him anymore. He is the reason you got involved with that fight to begin with, I don’t want him teaching you anymore rules like ‘no mercy’ or ‘strike first’. That isn’t how you should live your life, Miguel,” she huffed.</p><p>Miguel wrinkled his forehead, wondering where she got her information from. He was mad that she would tell Sensei to stay away when really what he needed was his guidance more than anything now. Johnny had a way of putting things that helped him overcome his battles, and this was one hell of a battle.</p><p>“I can’t believe you said that to him. Whether or not you believe it, Sensei Lawrence helped me a lot. He helped me stand up for myself and show the world that I’m not there for everyone to walk all over. He didn’t do this to me,” he gestured to his paralyzed state, “I need him, mom.”</p><p>Without moving, Carmen’s eyes searched all over Miguel’s face. She was trying to find the source of his love for this man who wore T-Shirts with 80s bands on them and drank expired juice from a carton.</p><p>“I don’t understand why you feel you need him in your life, Miggy. You’re a good boy. You are smart and kind and funny, what is it that Johnny can give you that you don’t already have?” Carmen’s eyes were serious. She didn’t want to risk her son getting hurt anymore, and as far as she was concerned, as soon as Johnny came into their lives, all Miguel ever got was hurt.</p><p>Miguel sighed, rolling his head back with exhaustion. “I’m not happy,” he stated. Carmen flinched at his words. “I can’t be!” He whelped. “Not when I know I am capable of recovering and achieving so much more, but I can’t do that unless I have a goal to work towards and I need Sensei’s help to get there.” He paused, letting her take in the seriousness of his words. “I want to fight again. I want to feel <em>alive</em> again. I need Sensei’s help to get there.”</p><p>A deafening silence hung in the air as Carmen took in his words. Miguel looked down at his untouched food, frowning when he realized it isn't as good when it’s cold. </p><p>“Okay,” his mom said, finally. </p><p>Miguel threw his head up to double check that what he heard was correct.</p><p>“Okay?” He asked.</p><p>She nodded, “You can see Johnny again, but I don’t want you to go over there. He’s coming here, where I can watch him. And I don’t want any karate lessons.” Miguel opened his mouth to protest, “Ah ah—” she stopped him. “No karate. At least not anytime soon,” she warned with a small smile.</p><p>Miguel closed his eyes and nodded silently. He would take what he could get at the moment. </p><p>“Now eat up, your food is no good when it gets cold,” she scolded. Carmen gave him a small smile and patted his head before leaving his room.</p><p>Miguel laid back in bed with relief. He was glad that he would finally get back to training just like he hoped. It would be a different kind of training, but it was what he needed. He just hoped that Johnny would be there to guide him through it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I adore Carmen and Miguel's relationship! I also like how the series never created a need to meet Miguel's dad because I think it's unique that Miguel feels fulfilled by having two strong women in his life. Of course Johnny is important to him too, but his mom and grandma were his main homies for so long. I just love that. What a sweet boy &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Tough Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Miguel proposes his plan for getting Johnny back as his Sensei to the man himself.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's been a bit since I last updated, but I just wanted to have these next three chapters all flushed out completely before I posted anything to make sure nothing drastically changes in any of them because they are all kind of connected. A few people have asked me whether I know what the endgame is yet, and I am so sorry that I don't! I thought I did for a few chapters, but then I wrote some more and got conflicted again. I think I'm going to make a decision soon though because I don't want to keep anyone around if they don't like the endgame, so don't worry, I get it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Miguel wheeled himself down the sidewalk and across the paved drive-up to the apartment across from his. Learning to control his wheelchair was taking some practice, and he still hadn’t mastered it yet. Going forward and backward was no problem, but it was the turns that did him in. So far, he has put a dent or two into his mom’s coffee table because it was situated between the doorway and dining table, making it a tough turn. Part of him hoped that he would never get “good” at maneuvering his chair, because he didn’t want to be in it for much longer.</p>
<p>But that would all come down to how hard he works at recovery. Being in the hospital took a toll on his confidence in himself to make a full recovery, and he knew that the only way he would feel good about himself again was if he had something to work towards. To fight for. He needed a goal, and he needed a Sensei.</p>
<p>Miguel felt his nerves building as he approached Johnny’s apartment. His palms were slipping from the wheels due to the sweat building on them. He wiped his hands on his pants before bringing a hand up to knock on the door. Taking a moment, Miguel closed his eyes and took a deep breath.</p>
<p>Letting his breath out, he reached a hand up to the door and firmly knocked on it. </p>
<p>He waited there with hard eyes for the door to open. It felt like forever. He knew Sensei was home; he could hear Guns ‘N Roses blasting through the speakers inside. After a few more moments of waiting, Miguel got impatient, and he knocked again, harder this time.</p>
<p>Right as his fist was about to make contact on the hard door one more time, suddenly the door ripped open. </p>
<p>“Hey, what’s your prob— “ an irritated Johnny said as he swung the door open. His words died in his throat as he looked down and saw Miguel there waiting for him. “Miguel?” He asked, shocked, and relieved to see the boy not in a hospital bed.</p>
<p>Miguel looked up at his Sensei with hurt eyes. His eyebrows wrinkled together as he looked over Johnny’s figure and down to his hand which was holding an out-of-character device. “Were you vacuuming?” Miguel asked with disbelief.</p>
<p>Awkwardly, Johnny turned the small, hand-held vacuum cleaner in his hand before lightly tossing it off to the side. “What are you doing here?” Johnny asked, ignoring Miguel’s question.</p>
<p>Miguel flinched at his words. They held no malice in them, but it had been so long since Johnny seemed displeased to see him. Miguel thought he would be overjoyed when he saw him at his door — Miguel came to him! Wasn’t that a good thing?</p>
<p>“I came to see you, since you haven’t tried to see me,” he responded a little annoyed.</p>
<p>Johnny closed his eyes and sighed nervously. “Does your mom know you’re here?”</p>
<p>“She told me how she told you not to come near us anymore,” he said rolling his eyes, “but I don’t want that. It took some convincing, but she said that as long as it’s at my house, while she is around, and there is no karate training, you can still be my Sensei...that last part of the deal I’m still negotiating, but we have some time before we cross that bridge,” Miguel spoke quickly.</p>
<p>A soft smile came across Johnny’s face as he looked down at the boy he felt so much pride for. But he was conflicted — on one hand, he wanted to be back in Miguel’s life more than anything; he just didn’t know whether being back in his life was the best thing for either of them. Johnny agreed with Carmen when she told he had caused enough damage to Miguel’s life, and looking down at the boy in the wheelchair confirmed that for Johnny. <em>What would Robby think?</em> He asked himself. There was a very very frail piece of string holding together his relationship with his son at the moment. The last thing he wanted was for that string to snap and be unrepairable. </p>
<p>Johnny squinted as he looked up at the blue sky before looking back down to Miguel.</p>
<p>“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Miguel,” he sighed.</p>
<p>The look on Miguel’s face as he broke his spirits drove a knife through Johnny’s heart. He closed his eyes so that he wouldn’t have to bear seeing that pained look of disappointment on Miguel’s face anymore.</p>
<p>“What do you mean it’s not a good idea?” He yelled out of confusion and hurt. “My mom said we can, wasn’t that the only thing keeping you from seeing me?” His voice cracked. <em>What if this whole time Sensei didn’t want to see me?</em> He wondered. The thought made his face twist as tears jolted to the corners of his eyes. He wouldn’t let them fall. “Did you even try to come visit me?” He asked, almost not wanting to stick around for the answer.</p>
<p>Johnny felt a strange sense of deja vu as he remembered these exact words coming out of his son’s mouth just a few days ago. He felt like the biggest piece of shit to walk the planet.</p>
<p>“Of course I tried,” he yelled, losing his temper. “I even bashed my head into a paper towel dispenser so that I could get into the ICU,” he pointed to the egg that was sticking out of his forehead even after weeks. Miguel quirked his face, confused by the sentence. “I broke you, Miguel. Look at you. And I can’t keep doing that. I need to get a hold of myself and my life, my son — I can’t — I can’t keep playing Sensei. I need to move on,” he said quietly, almost hoping that Miguel wouldn’t hear. </p>
<p>Miguel’s mouth opened to speak before it closed again. He stayed there deciding whether it was a waste of his time to keep trying. A few long moments went by before he shook his head and rolled himself back to his house. Once he got inside and closed the door, he felt his body break down. The tears flowed hard and he couldn’t stop the violent shakes of his shoulders that almost threw him off the chair. </p>
<p>“Miggy, ¿eres tú?” His Yaya called from the hallway. She rounded the corner and saw him. “Oh no — qué pasó mijo” she cried and ran to him. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into her embrace. As she kneeled next to him, her eyes looked out the window to the apartment across from them. She saw Johnny kicking his trash bin aggressively to the ground and across the sidewalk. He turned back to his house, pounding his head with his fists, then sinking down to the ground where he rested.</p>
<p>She shook her head sadly at him, then hugged her grandson tighter.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Poor Miguel!! Made my heart hurt to right this, but don't worry, it will get better.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Sneak Attack</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sam visits Miguel at his house for the first time, but things don't go quite as planned.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Some of you are reallyyyy going to hate me for this one. I'm sorry. Roast me in the comments. I can take it.</p>
<p>Also warning: Explicit language appears once in this chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sam walked up to Miguel’s apartment door with a tray of <em>homemade</em> cookies in her grasp. Based on Miguel’s response to her last time when he found out her brownies weren’t actually homemade, she figured she ought to prove that she knew how to bake and wasn’t just a store-bought goods type-of-person.</p>
<p>She wasn’t quite sure why, but it was important to her that he knew that. Growing up, she had to witness her mom and grandmother’s bickering with each other over store-bought goods and her family’s supposedly lack of self-pride in their work. She knew that her family were all hard workers, but Sam’s grandma’s traditional views around what made a strong household always hung over Sam’s head. Being privileged wasn’t something that she felt was appropriate to complain about — she was extremely grateful for everything that her parents did to give her a good life — but it was something that Sam felt embarrassed about nevertheless. Especially depending on who she was hanging out with. </p>
<p>In a way, it made her feel inadequate. She felt like her life experiences prevented her from seeing the world completely because she was hiding behind rose-colored glasses.</p>
<p>She couldn’t imagine Miguel holding her upbringing against her, but it was little things like the store bought brownies comment that reminded her of their differences in lifestyles. She felt the need to prove to him that she knew how to do these things, even if she did have the option for buying them out of convenience.</p>
<p>While she waited outside the door, it suddenly occurred to her how strange it was that she had never been to Miguel’s house before. Sam took a look down at her phone where he texted her the address and confirmed that it was the correct location. Sending a quick text to let him know she had arrived, she put her phone back into her pocket just as the door was opening, revealing his mom.</p>
<p>“Oh, hello, sweetie,” Carmen greeted her. “Miguel told me to keep an eye outside for when you get here. Here, come on in,” she opened the door the rest of the way and let Sam walk in front of her.</p>
<p>She walked in the rest of the way, taking in her surroundings. The first thing she noticed were the plants scattered through the entryway, which continued on well into the kitchen area. Each one had its own distinct shape and coloring.</p>
<p>“Thank you for having me, Ms. Diaz. I love your plants,” Sam complimented, hesitantly gesturing to the nearby houseplant. </p>
<p>“Oh thank you, I always loved being surrounded by plants. They make me feel rejuvenated and full of life,” she smiled. Carmen leaned in lowered her voice, “When Miguel was little, he used to always ask for a little brother or sister, and I would joke and tell him that I was coming home with a new brother or sister for him, and then it would be a plant,” she snickered. Sam giggled and awed at the thought of Miguel wishing for a little sibling. “Because it’s true, I treat them like they’re my babies.”</p>
<p>“Aw well, that’s so sweet. My dad loves plants too, maybe not quite as much as you do,” she chuckled. “But he used to garden a lot, and Bonsai trees are really important to him,” Sam described.</p>
<p>“Oh I know, I’ve seen the commercials!” She laughed. “Here let me take these from you,” Carmen reached forward and took the tray that Sam had been clutching onto, setting it on the table.</p>
<p>Even though Carmen was more than welcoming, Sam felt an uneasiness standing in their house. She had a mixture of guilt and regret coming from the fact that her and Miguel’s whole time dating, Sam never met his mom or grandmother. To add onto that, she also still wasn’t sure where her and Miguel stood at the moment. They both said sorry, but Sam couldn’t shake the fact that she held responsibility for putting him in his current state. It made her constantly question whether his mom actually liked her or was just being nice.</p>
<p>“Oh hey, you’re here,” Miguel came into the scene, breaking Sam out of her train of thought. “I was just coming to let you in,” he smiled. Miguel wheeled over to where Sam and his mom stood. There was something about seeing Sam in his house that felt surreal, especially under these circumstances. But it made his heart beat a bit faster to have her in his space, where he could show her parts of his life that they previously missed out on.</p>
<p>“I’m here,” she repeated. “Your mom was just telling me all about her plants,” she smiled.</p>
<p>“Ugh, you mean my brothers and sisters,” Miguel groaned. He shook his head to the side, “We have too many plants.”</p>
<p>“No, I like them. I don’t think there’s too many at all,” Sam defended.</p>
<p>“See, Miggy,” Carmen interjected. “You should listen to her, she’s smart,” she teased, giving Sam’s arm a small squeeze. Sam giggled, thankful for the approval. Miguel looked between his mom and Sam with a sparkle in his eyes, getting to see them interact with each other brought a lightness to his heart.</p>
<p>“Sooo, would you like a tour?” Miguel proposed. Wheeling back and forth a bit restless.</p>
<p>Sam chuckled, “Would you like to give me a tour?” She asked.</p>
<p>“Well since you asked,” he teased, ducking his head in a fake bow. Miguel turned his chair around and smirked at her as Sam shook her head chuckling at his antics. </p>
<p><em>It was nice to see him in a good mood,</em> Sam thought.</p>
<p>Leading her around the kitchen aisle, Miguel stopped abruptly in front of the stove. “Alright, alright, here we got the basics: your run-of-the-mill stove and oven combo, perfect for making soups, chicken, whatever the hell it is you want — although, I am partial to this little baby over here,” he said, rolling over to the microwave on the countertop. “This is my personal favorite appliance. I recommend every kitchen having one,” Miguel said.</p>
<p>Sam crossed her arms, intrigued by ‘expertise’. “Why do I feel like I’m on some HGTV show where you’re trying to sell me a house,” she questioned, following him as he wheeled toward the living room.</p>
<p>Miguel laughed at her accusation. “You know, I maybe have been watching a little too much TV lately,” he confessed. She laughed at his confession. <em>It all made sense now,</em> she thought.</p>
<p>Turning the corner into the living room, Sam and Miguel were now alone, having left Carmen in the kitchen. Miguel seemed to have left his “tour guide” personna in the previous room, and now he returned to his normal self. He parked his chair next to the couch and looked up Sam, smiling.</p>
<p>“So where are we now?” Sam asked, wondering whether the “tour” was over or not. She smirked at him as he smiled up at her.</p>
<p>Miguel bowed his head bashfully; he really just wanted to get Sam into the other room so that they could be alone together. Lifting his head back up, he tried to transition smoothly. “This is where all the magic happens,” he said. “I sit here, and …” he paused, “That’s pretty much it,” he laughed.</p>
<p>Sam took a seat on his couch and noticed how comfortable it was. She looked around the room, taking in the golden hour light coming in from the windows, which colored the walls and furniture with a soft glow. When she looked back at Miguel, she noticed him watching her. She blushed at his gaze.</p>
<p>“So, how is it being back at home?” She asked, a bit shy.</p>
<p>Miguel’s face dropped suddenly, but he tried to catch himself before he let his emotions show too boldly. “It’s,” he hesitated. “It’s a lot more comfortable,” he offered.</p>
<p>Her head fell to the side and she looked up at Miguel with a soft expression. She knew there was more there, but didn’t want to press him for answers unless he wanted to provide them. </p>
<p>“Yeah, I’d imagine your own bed probably feels a lot more comfortable than laying in a hospital bed,” Sam offered, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.</p>
<p>Miguel chuckled a bit in agreement. “Thanks for coming over here, Sam. I haven’t had a lot of visitors since I got out of the hospital and it’s nice to have something to take my mind off things,” he said. </p>
<p>“Of course, I’ve missed seeing you … you know — at school and stuff,” she stuttered nervously, shifting the rings on her fingers. Miguel couldn’t help himself but smile at her slip of the tongue. Even if she did correct herself, he wondered how much of what she said before the clarification was true. “How has your physical therapy been going? Do you know if you’re going to be back at school anytime soon?” She asked quickly, trying to brush over her previous statement.</p>
<p>Miguel sucked in a slow breath and blew it out through his gritted teeth. The shift in demeanor caught Sam’s attention. She felt a bit stupid for asking about something likely sensitive to him.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, I — you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to…” she trailed off.</p>
<p>“No, no, no, it’s — um, it’s fine,” Miguel looked down away from her gaze. “I started only this past week doing little bits. It’s a bit slow for what I feel like I need, but the PT said that if I start too fast it may just psych me out instead of helping so…” his body started to hunch over as he spoke.</p>
<p>“Well that’s okay, there’s no rush, right? You just need to be patient and take it day by day,” Sam smiled at him, hoping her words helped.</p>
<p>Shaking his head a bit, Miguel looked up to meet Sam’s eyes. “Well, I mean, I do feel a bit of a rush. The All Valley is coming up in a few months, and I really think that if I put all my time into recovery, I could start training again sooner than later, and maybe stand a chance to fight again,” he confessed. Miguel watched as Sam’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. </p>
<p>Her head swarmed with thoughts and warnings she felt the need to express to him. <em>What was he talking about the All Valley for?</em> She questioned. She didn't think he would want to fight again after what happened, and she kind of hoped that he would be disinterested. His involvement with Cobra Kai made him into a jerk, as far as she was concerned. Her mind wandered to the image of him grunting and flexing on the mat at the All Valley last year; the look on his face of sheer determination and a deadly glint in his eyes; when he threatened that he would seriously hurt Robby in the finals of the tournament — and then did — they all made up a different side of him that Sam hated being around. </p>
<p>“Do you think that’s a good idea? I mean, I want you to be up and walking and feeling strong again, but first of all, the All Valley is really close — maybe you should prepare yourself for the possibility that you might not be better by then,” she said cautiously. The last thing she wanted to do was discourage him from getting better, but she didn’t see how supporting him to get involved with Cobra Kai again would do him any good either.</p>
<p>Miguel’s eyebrows crinkled on his forehead. He already lost the support of his mom and Sensei when he told them about his plans, but he didn’t expect Sam to be against him too.</p>
<p>“You don’t think I’m going to get better?” He asked her, his hurt feelings tainting his voice.</p>
<p>“No it’s not that. I think you will be better, but why give yourself a deadline? The All Valley is so close, and do you really want to get involved with Cobra Kai again?” She sighed.</p>
<p>Miguel sat back in his wheelchair, nodding his head with realization of what this all was about. <em>It’s the same old ‘Cobra Kai is bad, Miyagi Do is good’ BS,</em> he thought to himself. </p>
<p>“So that’s what this is then. You don’t trust Cobra Kai,” he stated firmly.</p>
<p>Sam took a breath in, feeling her anger start to rise just talking about Cobra Kai. “No, I don’t, not after what Tory tried to do to me, and you shouldn’t either. After what happened to you, Miguel?” She stressed.</p>
<p>“What happened to me? <em>Robby</em> did that to me,” he cried. Sam flinched at his words. “That wasn’t Cobra Kai. I showed mercy to Robby Keene and you know how he responded? He kicked me over the fucking railing,” his voice was rising as he tried to get his point across.</p>
<p>Sam crossed her arms over her chest defensively. “You don’t know what Robby was thinking, he isn’t a bad person, I don’t think he was trying to hurt you like that, he just hasn’t had a lot of guidance in his life, and —” she pleaded.</p>
<p>“— you know what, save it,” Miguel said, cutting her off. He was getting pissed at hearing her defend Robby to him; to himself of all people, the guy who Robby put in the wheelchair. “Tory has a lot of trauma too, Sam. But I don’t see you trying to find forgiveness for her anytime soon,” he huffed.</p>
<p>Sam’s eyes glared for a second at the mention of Tory’s name, but she quickly shook the anger, realizing that Miguel had a point. “You’re right,” she admitted. “I don’t expect you to forgive Robby after what happened. It was terrible what he did.” She paused for Miguel to say something, but he remained silent, arms crossed. “Look, I don’t want to upset you. I just don’t want to see you get hurt again either, and I think I’m just surprised that you feel safe with returning to Cobra Kai. I don't want to return to Miyagi Do, even if my mom was letting my dad keep teaching,” Sam admitted. Her foot was bouncing anxiously, remembering the summer she had of training and how it unfolded.</p>
<p>Miguel stayed quiet for another minute, taking in her words. Part of him knew where she was coming from, but the rest of him was hurt by her defense of Robby and her stubbornness when it came to Cobra Kai. Finally he spoke, “Yeah, well, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about me joining Cobra Kai or training soon anyways. You’re not the only one who thinks it’s a bad idea, so I guess I’m alone on this one.”</p>
<p>Sam opened her mouth to say something but closed it when she realized she didn’t have any words. His coded statement was difficult to decipher a clear meaning from. She figured he was talking about his mom, but what about Johnny Lawrence? Wasn’t he always on Miguel’s side? </p>
<p>Frustrated, Miguel ran a hand through the side of his hair. He was really looking forward to having Sam here today, especially after the other night. Now though, he was back feeling betrayed and pissed off again. “Look, I appreciate you coming over here, but I haven’t really been at my best headspace, even before you came over, so I think I maybe just need to be alone for a bit,” he said apologetically. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry, Miguel,” Sam said quietly. She felt terrible about what happened. None of this was supposed to happen, but apparently there were leftover feelings that they had yet to resolve. </p>
<p>Sam got up and quietly walked through the hallway into the kitchen to where Carmen stood, chopping something on a cutting board. </p>
<p>“Thank you so much for having me, Ms. Diaz,” Sam said politely as she turned to leave.</p>
<p>“Oh, you’re leaving so soon? Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner, honey? I’m making Papa al horno,” she intrigued.</p>
<p>Sam gave her a sad smile. “That sounds delicious, but I’m sorry, I need to get home.”</p>
<p>Carmen raised an eyebrow at her solemn look and made a mental note to check on her son after she left. “Okay, thank you for stopping by,” she said. Her eyes fell down to the cookies Sam left, just as she was turning around to make her exit. “Oh! I forgot, do you want this back?” She quickly asked Sam.</p>
<p>Sam paused; it was her mom’s platter...she probably was better to just leave it, her mom would understand. “Oh no, go ahead and keep them,” she said with a wave of her hand, “I hope you enjoy them,” she smiled.</p>
<p>Turning around for good, she quickly made her exit through the door and outside to the breezy, warm air. Taking a deep breath, she held it at the top for a second before shuttering it out. Her face contorted into a sad pout. She felt completely awful for how things went with Miguel just now, and she didn’t even know what she could do to fix things. </p>
<p>She walked to her car that was illuminated by the street light, in the midst of the darkness. She pulled her keys out of her pocket, clicking the button twice to unlock her car. As she brought her hand up to the handle, a threatening voice called out to her, shaking her to her core.</p>
<p>“Hey LaRusso,” Tory hissed. </p>
<p>Sam felt all the blood drain from her face.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I did NOT expect to end this chapter this way but THEN TORY JUST APPEARED! I swear, I was as shocked as Sam was. Next chapter will go out either tonight or tomorrow morning!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Head Games</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tory isn't happy to find Sam leaving Miguel's house at night. She takes her anger out on her until someone tries to stop her.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Y'all delievered on your roasts! Thank you for that haha. I think I have come to a decision on the endgame: so after careful review, I think that it would be best if I make this a Robby/Sam endgame. It probably would be best so that I can keep this story true to how I see it without worrying about upsetting readers by causing conflict in the pairings. </p>
<p>Sorry if that isn't your desirable outcome -- I wish I could write it the way everyone wants to view these characters, but this just makes the most sense to me. This will probably be goodbye for some of you, so thanks for reading and enjoying the chapters you did. And to everyone who is staying, welcome! Thanks for kicking around, I hope you enjoy the rest of what I have in store.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey LaRusso.”</p>
<p>Tory’s voice rang in her ears, sending a chill down her spine. Time froze for a long minute. <em>Is this real?</em> Sam thought. She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped that this was one of her nightmares and she would soon wake up safe in her bed. </p>
<p>Her body froze; she couldn’t turn around; she couldn’t breathe. For a moment, she thought that maybe she did imagine it, and that she would turn around and Tory wouldn’t be there. That was until she heard footsteps pacing toward her, increasing in cadence and frequency with every step.</p>
<p>Gasping for a strained breath, Sam whipped around, coming face-to-face with the dirty-blonde displaying a wicked scowl, mean enough to do damage if looks could kill.</p>
<p>“I knew you heard me,” Tory huffed. Her arms were crossed over her chest, but her legs were positioned in a fighting stance, ready to pounce. “Did you think you could just freeze and I wouldn’t see you?” She scoffed.</p>
<p>Sam didn’t say anything. She watched closely as Tory’s eyes scanned her up and down, noticing how they lingered on her hand clutching her car keys with a monkey-fist-stinger keychain attached. </p>
<p>“What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?” She shot, her lips turning up into a smirk knowing she had Sam right where she wanted her.</p>
<p>Nervously, Sam shook her head and pleaded with her body to move. <em>Do something, get yourself out of here</em>, she argued with herself. Finally her voice caught up with her. “I — I don’t want any trouble,” her voice shook. </p>
<p>Sam didn’t like the grin that Tory countered her with. “Well that’s too bad,” she said. “Because trouble is what I came for.” Without hesitating, Tory whipped her hands up and sent a kick flying into Sam’s gut. Sam’s back slammed against her car door and fell to the ground. Glancing up just in time, she managed to move out of the way from Tory’s next kick, rolling under her legs. On her way under, Sam grabbed at Tory’s back leg, taking it with her and causing Tory to lose her balance and fall face down onto the cold, hard pavement.</p>
<p>Tory grunted with the fall, slamming her fist into the ground before forcing herself back up.</p>
<p>Sam took the advantage of Tory being on the ground and quickly opened her car door, throwing herself into the seat. She made the reach to close the door, but was too late. Tory swooped in and yanked on Sam’s arm, dragging her out of the seat. Sam hit the pavement with a thud, yelling out in pain as the side of her head and hip made contact with the rough ground. She tried to regain her bearings, but before she could flip over to right-side herself, Tory already had taken control. </p>
<p>With one hand grasping at Sam’s hair and the other arm hooking around her neck, Tory pulled Sam’s head back to look her square in the eyes. “I know why you are here,” Tory breathed into Sam’s face. “You were visiting Miguel, weren’t you?” </p>
<p>Sam struggled to breathe. She looked up at the girl who had her pinned down through watery eyes from her recent blow to her head. Her heart was racing so fast, she didn’t even listen to Tory’s question. All she was thinking about was what this girl would do to her next, and how she would fight back.</p>
<p>However, Tory didn’t take kindly to her silence. “I knew it,” she grunted. Sam felt part of her grip loosen upon the realization, but it quickly tightened again with a resurgence of anger. Tory yanked her hair up even more, and Sam released a loud yelp from the pain. She watched as Tory’s eyes glistened with fury, and her hold around Sam’s neck tightened, cutting off her air.</p>
<p>Sam felt hopeless. She didn’t know how she could strike back, and her mind was becoming increasingly clouded with fear.</p>
<p>“Hey,” a booming voice cut through the air along with the loud of a door being swung open. “What’s going on out here?” </p>
<p>Sam recognized that voice. <em>It wasn’t...</em>, she questioned, <em>...was it?</em></p>
<p>Tory’s grip let go and Sam found herself collapsing to the ground, grasping for breath. She inhaled deeply, and slowly her ears tuned into the scene around her.</p>
<p>“Tory? What the hell are you doing here?” Robby gritted through his teeth.</p>
<p>Sam turned and looked up to see Robby and Johnny standing next to each other, both on guard, with confused looks on their faces. Coughing suddenly from her loss of air, Sam caught the attention of Robby who just now noticed who Tory’s victim was. His eyes widened with concern and he ran over to help her.</p>
<p>Johnny looked toward the tall blonde who looked as though she was about to bolt at any minute. Tory was one of his former students, and she was now no doubtedly under the influence of Kreese, he realized. </p>
<p>He shook his head and sighed, “Tory. Leave.” He demanded sternly, but without raising his voice. Tory shook her head as she watched Robby loop his arm around Sam’s waist and guide her to stand. Johnny could see the pain in her eyes. It made his heart hurt to see the bright girl be tormented by her demons with no one there except Kreese to guide her; Johnny knew how that story went. </p>
<p>Without a word, Tory whipped around and stalked off into the darkness.</p>
<p>Robby held onto Sam tightly, partly to support her while standing, and partly because he missed the way she felt in his arms. “Are you alright?” he asked her. His green eyes searched all over her face, taking in her wounds. From what he could see, it looked like the bleeding scratches on her temple and cheekbone would be the worst, but he could only hope there wasn’t any more damage done internally. </p>
<p>Sam gazed up at Robby, still not believing that he was here or that this whole situation had just happened to her. It felt fake. Like one of her nightmares that she had been having since the incident, except this time she almost didn’t make it to see what happened to Miguel or Robby by the end. </p>
<p>“Sam?” Robby begged again.</p>
<p>“I —” She started before being interrupted by a cough. “I — I’m okay,” she nodded. “Just, my head hurts, but I’m okay.” Finally her cloudiness was dissipating and she was able to make sense of the situation around her. It dawned on her that Robby was here, with his dad, living next to Miguel. She gulped.</p>
<p>“I bet, but it’s okay, you’re alright now,” he smiled down at her with his half smile; her heart fluttered. “Do you want to come inside for a second?” Robby’s eyes quickly darted up to his dad. Johnny sighed, but then slowly nodded at him with confirmation.</p>
<p>“Um, yeah, I think that would be good,” she said, but she looked unsure. </p>
<p>Robby guided her over the curb and through the door of the house. He led her over to the couch to sit down, as Johnny hovered in the background. </p>
<p>Looking around the tiny room, Sam was eerily reminded of the day before school, when Robby had helped her up the steps and into his dad’s apartment the night of the party. That night, Sam thought it would be the worst day of her life. Little did she know that the next morning things would get exceedingly worse. </p>
<p>“Um, I’m gonna go get some bandaids and a wet towel. Are you okay to keep an eye on her?” Johnny asked from his place near the door.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks,” Robby acknowledged and then turned his attention back to Sam who was rubbing her head with her hand. “You might not want to do that until we can get you cleaned up,” he advised her, gently pulling her hand away.</p>
<p>She nodded. “I, I didn’t know you were back,” she wondered, eyes widening.</p>
<p>Without any emotion in his face, Robby slowly nodded. “First day,” he said.</p>
<p>“I didn’t know,” she repeated. <em>Should I have known?</em> She questioned herself. It wasn’t like they were able to have a lot of contact during his stay, but this felt like information that she should have at least followed up on. <em>Would he have come to me to tell me that he was back tomorrow?</em></p>
<p>“I um…” Robby trailed off, “I got out early, I guess. I wasn’t sure if your dad would get notified or what, since he was the one that brought me to the station,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “I wasn’t really sure what the protocol was,” he vaguely chuckled.</p>
<p>Sam smiled, “Yeah, me neither.” She swallowed, her throat feeling dry. “I would have come if I had known you were back,” she affirmed.</p>
<p>Robby’s jaw clenched for a moment. <em>Why was it that I never wanted to believe people when they told me these things?</em> He questioned himself. He nodded his head gently, not meeting her eyes. </p>
<p>“So, what happened? Why were you in Reseda anyway? Did you know Tory was going to be here?” He bombarded her with questions. All fair questions, but the explanations to which were a little more complicated than she wished to dive into. </p>
<p>Taking in a deep breath, Sam knew that she ought to provide Robby with an explanation as to why she was over here, outside his dad’s apartment. “Robby, I need to tell you something…” she began.</p>
<p>“Alright, I hope these bandaids work. They’re the off-brand kind, but sometimes if you stick two side-by-side it stays on pretty well,” Johnny interrupted, walking into the living room holding a bowl of warm water with a cloth and a basket of thin bandages. </p>
<p>Both of the kids on the couch stared at him, waiting for him to leave again so they could finish their conversation. </p>
<p>Robby awkwardly cleared his throat, “Um, thanks Dad. Do you think you could call Mr. LaRusso and let him know Sam is here?” Robby asked, taking the water and bandages out of his grasp. He appreciated his dad’s help, but he kind of wanted to be alone with Sam at the moment. </p>
<p>Johnny cringed at the idea of calling Daniel, especially to inform him about his daughter getting attacked. The man always jumped to conclusions when he was mad about something, for all Johnny knew, he could try to blame him or Robby for this situation they had nothing to do with. </p>
<p>“I don’t know if I should be the one to call him,” he said, scratching the back of his head. </p>
<p>“Please?” He requested, more sternly this time, hoping his dad would take the hint. </p>
<p>Johnny looked annoyed, but tried to hide it as he nodded his head and walked away. This wasn’t the way he envisioned his first night with his son home, but in all honesty, if the two were left to each other for too long, there’s a fair chance they would have started biting each other’s heads off by now anyway. </p>
<p>Ringing out the warm wash cloth, Robby got to work dabbing the dried blood smears from Sam’s face. His gentle actions warmed Sam’s heart, and she couldn’t help but stare at his face, which was mere inches away from her. </p>
<p>She swallowed again, noticing how her throat became drier the more nervous she got. With him this close, she could see the outline of the healing scars across his cheekbones and the impression of a larger hit near his temple, affecting his soft skin. </p>
<p>She couldn’t help herself as a hand reached up to glide along the scar, soothingly. Robby flinched at her touch, caught off guard by her actions. When her hand didn’t retract, he leaned into it, remembering her gentle touch. </p>
<p>He smirked, “Yeah, that’s what I get for sitting at the wrong table,” he chuckled, trying to lighten the tension. </p>
<p>Sam shook her hand, her blue eyes sincere, “I’m sorry. You don’t deserve to be treated that way,” she said. </p>
<p>Immediately her mind replayed Miguel’s words from earlier today: <em>“I showed mercy to Robby Keene and you know how he responded? He kicked me over the fucking railing.”</em></p>
<p>Her breath hitched, and her hand retracted out of instinct. </p>
<p>Robby’s eyebrow crinkled at her action, but tried to brush it off anyway. </p>
<p>“Um, so what was it that you wanted to tell me earlier. You know, before my dad interrupted us,” he gulped. From the way she started the sentence, it sounded like something serious. </p>
<p>Sam sat back a little, distancing herself from him. “Oh, right, yeah,” she began, tucking a piece of hair behind her ears. “I wanted to tell you that...the reason I was here, like in Reseda, outside your dad’s apartment was — um,” she swallowed again. Robby stilled his movements, cocking his head to the side with confusion. He tried to figure out why she was so hesitant to say her words. </p>
<p>“Hey,” he put his hand on hers, “It’s okay, whatever it is, you can tell me,” he reassured her. </p>
<p>Sam cringed a bit at his actions. The hand on her hand reminded her of each time she recently did that to comfort Miguel. Her actions all felt innocent at the time, but realizing the feelings behind each gesture with each boy just made her feel guilty. </p>
<p>“I was visiting Miguel,” she choked out. </p>
<p>Robby removed his hand immediately, sitting back with a dazed look on his face. </p>
<p>“God, that guy is such a dick,” Johnny came barging out of the bedroom having just hung up the phone, mumbling under his breath, but loud enough for them to hear. “Sorry,” he looked up guilty when he remembered Sam was right in the room. “Your dad is on his way, he said wanted you to stay put so that he could drive you back,” he told her.</p>
<p>The tension in the room was thick. Johnny looked between the two kids on the couch confused, Robby had been staring intensely at Sam’s face, while Sam looked off toward Johnny and down at her hands with a guilty expression. Sensing that something was out of sorts, Johnny formulated an excuse to remove himself from this uncomfortable situation. </p>
<p>“You know, I have some...things that I need to do, um, on the Internet, so I’ll be in that room. Just, yell for me if either of you need anything else,” he said, backing out of the living room and into the bedroom.</p>
<p>The atmosphere of the room didn’t shift with his exit, however. Sam and Robby continued to sit with their thoughts, each running over the situation in their heads. </p>
<p>He didn’t want to assume the worst, but the way Sam was nervous to share that she was at Miguel’s house today made him feel like the full story probably wouldn’t get much better. Seeing her today was unexpected, and not under the best circumstances, but something in him felt lighter having been able to just see her in person. It felt like he finally had a chance to talk to her about all the things floating around in his head since the first day of school, and maybe even prove to her that he is good enough for her. Miguel being back in the picture like this complicated things. It cemented the fact that he had been trying to ignore, which is that her feelings for him maybe aren’t as strong as he thought if she was still confused.</p>
<p>The silence floating in the air was deafening to Sam as she tried to think of something to say that would help soften the blow, except there wasn’t anything to hide the reality. </p>
<p>“Was it like...a date?” Robby gulped. </p>
<p>Sam’s eyes widened as his voice cut through the prolonged silence. “No, no it wasn’t like that,” she said nervously. Her brain flashed to her and Miguel’s first “not date” — <em>Could it have been a date?</em> She thought. In a way, most of her dates had been unofficial, or just “hanging out,” but when she went over to visit Miguel today, they both seemed pretty clear that they were just friends still. “It wasn’t a date,” she said confidently. “I came over because I think he needs a friend right now, and…” she paused to think. “And I like spending time with him,” she admitted.</p>
<p>Robby nodded his head. He looked down at the cloth in his hand and resumed his actions from before, wiping the blood from her face. Sam was confused by his behavior. She could still feel his emotions, but she wished he would tell her what he was thinking instead of bottling it up inside. </p>
<p>After letting him wipe the blood from her face some more, she grabbed his hand and stilled his actions as he reached toward the basket of bandages. “Robby,” she stopped him. He looked away from her gaze, jaw tense. “I need you to tell me what you’re thinking,” she told him quietly.</p>
<p>His eyes closed for a moment before he rolled his head back up to look at her in her bright blue eyes. </p>
<p>“Sam, I still like you,” he breathed. He looked up again, away from her eyes. “And I’m pissed that that’s not enough,” he admitted. “But I can’t change how you feel, so...if you need to take the time to figure things out then, then that’s up to you,” he nodded, looking at her with sincerity in his eyes. “But I don’t think we can be <em>together</em> while you do that,” he finished. </p>
<p>Sam took a deep inhale, letting his words process through her fully. She felt tears start to glisten her eyes and tried to ignore them so that they wouldn’t fall. Her heart broke at the thought of their relationship ending, even if they hadn’t been together the way they used to be in some time. She knew it was the right thing for her to do though, instead of leading either boy on with some false hope that she chose them. She didn’t even know where Miguel stood in regard to his feelings for her, but holding onto Robby because he was a sure thing wasn’t right either. <em>Man, I just hope I can figure this all out soon</em>, she thought, exhausted from her torn heart.</p>
<p>Reaching up, she cupped Robby’s cheek with her hand. His eyes immediately softened like a sad puppy at her touch, and she wished that she could just hold his head in her lap and make all his sadness go away. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple. </p>
<p>“I think, it would be best if I figured this all out on my own,” she told him sadly. “It’s not fair to you, or Miguel if I keep going back and forth, and I don’t want to hurt you anymore than I already have,” her voice cracked.</p>
<p>With his eyes still sad, Robby gave a nod of his head so she knew he heard her. He could feel his heart being torn apart as he came to terms with the fact that she may not choose him. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” Sam whispered. </p>
<p>Robby leaned back from her touch, “It’s okay,” he paused, “Well, it’ll be okay,” he corrected. Sighing, he returned to his previous task of placing gauze and cheap bandaids on her cuts. </p>
<p>Sam watched him continue to take care of her, even after their break up, with awe. It showed her how much he really cared for her. </p>
<p>Now that her mind wasn't focused on her scene with Tory or telling Robby how she felt, she finally was able to really look at the boy in front of her. She noticed something that she didn’t fully realize before. </p>
<p>“Hey, did you get a haircut?” She gawked. </p>
<p>Sheepishly, Robby chuckled and blushed a bit at her sudden realization. “I did it myself, pretty good right?” He joked.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wanted to end it on a lighter note -- also I really wish we had some reaction toward Robby's haircut in season from someone other than just Daniel lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Just Like Oil and Water</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Daniel comes to pick up Sam after the fight with Tory, and he learns some new information about the state of Cobra Kai.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry it's been awhile since I've updated! Things have been really busy and I also kept rewriting this chapter because I wasn't happy with it, but I think I finally got it to a point that I'm satisfied with!</p>
<p>Also thank you to all the support and kindness I've received from the last chapter! It really makes my day to see people enjoying my story and wanting more. Just know that your kindness makes an impact!</p>
<p>Without further ado, I hope you enjoy it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Daniel arrived 30 minutes after he got off the phone with Johnny. It was a 45 minute drive, but with his foot on the gas pedal the whole time it made the long mileage drift away in his rearview mirror effortlessly. </p>
<p>Johnny didn’t explain much on the phone, all he was told was that he and Robby heard some commotion and yelling outside, and when they went to check they found Sam beat up on the ground. He immediately thought whether Miguel had anything to do with this, or maybe one of those other Cobra Kai minions. Obviously Miguel was still recovering, but he knows that Sam went over to visit him, so it’s possible that something went wrong between the two. <em>It was only last year that Sam came home upset because Miguel had pushed her down at that beach party,</em> Daniel remembered. <em>The kid seemed kind in person, but so did Johnny when he was younger and around adults</em>. </p>
<p>The whole drive was stressful. Johnny wouldn’t even give him a clear answer about how badly Sam was injured. </p>
<p>“<em>It’s just a few scratches on her head,</em>” he had said. </p>
<p>Daniel scoffed, <em>that guy has no clue how to handle emergency situations</em>. It made him worried that Robby was staying with him now, but he also knew it wasn’t his place. Robby needed to learn that his dad would be there for him; he needed to find balance with that relationship. If a problem did come up, hopefully Robby would know he could come to Daniel for help still.</p>
<p>He parked his car next to Sam’s in the driveway of the complex. Jumping out of his seat, he marched up to the house and banged on the door. The whole scene reminded him of that morning when he woke up to find Sam missing from her bed. Sighing with his hand on the side of his head, he tried to remind himself to keep his cool. <em>Remember how much your temper ruined things last time</em>, he reminded himself. <em>Getting upset at anyone wasn’t going to fix things</em>. </p>
<p>Robby answered the door after his pounding knocks. </p>
<p>“Robby,” he gasped. Daniel smiled at the kid, happy to see him out of the detention center and in a better place. He shook his head wordlessly. There was more he wanted to say to him, but his eyes kept shifting over Robby’s shoulder, unable to control his urge to find his daughter. </p>
<p>Robby seemed to understand. With a quick, tight smile, he opened the door the rest of the way to let the panicked father inside. </p>
<p>“Dad!” Sam called. His eyes found her on the couch and he went over to inspect her injuries. </p>
<p>“Sam, what the hell happened? Did something happen with Miguel?” He snapped. Lurking in the background hesitantly, Robby looked down at the mention of the boy’s name. He still felt insecure about just the idea of Miguel and Sam having something equal to, or better, than what he has with her. He left the room to join his dad in the bedroom, feeling out of place with this father-daughter conversation. </p>
<p>“No, Miguel would never do something like this,” Sam snapped back. “This was Tory,” she said with a quiver in her voice. </p>
<p>“Tory?” Daniel exclaimed. “Isn’t she supposed to be on probation? We have to go to the police about this,” he stressed.</p>
<p>“Already did,” Johnny announced, coming out of the bedroom when he overheard the conversation. “They said that it probably wouldn’t change much about her situation since she is still the caregiver to her mother. They’ll probably just switch her probation officer,” Johnny leaned on the doorframe of the adjacent room.</p>
<p>Daniel shook his head in disbelief. “What? Bullshit. I — I’ll give them a call. There’s no way she can continue getting away with this,” he seethed. </p>
<p>“I said I already called them — what, you think you have some special pull with the cops because of your friggin auto business?” Johnny challenged, uncrossing his arms, he took an arrogant step toward Daniel on the couch.</p>
<p>“Uh, actually, I was the one that put in a good word for your son over there so that he wouldn’t get the worst detention sentence so —” Daniel stood up.</p>
<p>“ — oh yeah, you did so good that he had to spend a month in there getting the shit beat out of him,” Johnny countered, taking another step.</p>
<p>“Hey!” Robby yelled, coming out of the other room just in time to get between the two childish adults in the room. “Will you two shut up for a second? You’re both on the same side here, stop trying to find a reason to fight,” he looked between both men disapprovingly. During his time at the detention center, he forgot just how much his dad and Mr. LaRusso clashed. It was beyond annoying. Every sentence addressed to the other had to have some form of bite to it.</p>
<p>Daniel backed off, relaxing his shoulders a bit. “Sorry,” he apologized. He hesitated, “And...thanks for coming out and helping Sam. I appreciate it,” Daniel looked Johnny and Robby both in the eyes sincerely. They both nodded an identical, single nod. </p>
<p>Sam had been quiet during her dad’s outburst, but she got off the couch to stand next to her dad at the change in mood. “Yeah, thank you both for stepping in and helping me get fixed up,” she smiled. </p>
<p>“Of course,” Robby assured. </p>
<p>“Yeah, don’t mention it,” Johnny waved off with his hand. </p>
<p>“Seriously, I don’t know what might have happened if neither of you came out, so it’s a big deal,” she looked each of them earnestly in the eyes. That moment when Tory had her pinned down with her arm closing in around her neck felt just as terrifying as the fight school had felt. Everything circled back to her feeling completely helpless in the face of danger. Her body froze, her mind went blank, she could only lay there and let someone decide her outcome. Before she could realize what she was doing, Daniel had grabbed a hold of her hand that was aggressively rubbing at her arm and pulled it into his own, looping his other arm around her shoulders. Sam felt herself give into the comfort of her dad’s embrace. Closing her eyes for a second, she forgot where she was, until the tears that were threatening to fall jolted her back to reality. </p>
<p>She wiped her face against the side of her dad’s jacket and turned back to the solemn looks that were watching her with pitiful eyes. </p>
<p>A heavy sigh released from Daniel’s throat. He couldn’t believe how far this situation had come. The fact that Cobra Kai was still terrorizing the Valley, with his own daughter as their favorite target, just sent a chill up his spine. </p>
<p>“These kids they’re…” Daniel shook his head with disbelief, “They’re out of control. They need to be stopped,” he emphasized.</p>
<p>“It’s not the kids that are the problem. I know these kids. They weren’t out of control like this until Kreese stepped in,” Johnny explained, a tinge of guilt coloring his voice. “Letting him back in was a mistake,” Johnny admitted quietly.</p>
<p>Daniel scoffed, “Yeah, no kidding.”</p>
<p>“Wait, Aisha told me you fired Kreese. How can he still influence your Cobra Kai students if he’s not there. Isn’t this your job to teach them the right way now?” Sam challenged. Unless Aisha was lying, which Sam didn’t think was likely, then the responsibility to change Cobra Kai fell on Johnny’s shoulders as far as she was concerned.</p>
<p>“I did fire him,” Johnny defended. Daniel looked up at this new information, surprised. He thought Johnny was still involved with Kreese and Cobra Kai, why would he fire him? “But after the fight at school, I came back to find him in my dojo. He completely took over — all the kids that I trained, he has them now,” Johnny finished. His shoulders hunched forward for a second, feeling like a loser. When he took off after that day, he really thought he wasn’t going to ever come back. All that faith that his students — that Miguel — had put into him, and he completely ruined it. <em>How could anyone trust me again to lead them in the right direction</em>, he asked himself.</p>
<p>“I thought I could show mercy to someone who raised me to think that mercy was for the weak. It was misguided, but I thought he could change. Turns out not everyone is capable of changing,” he mumbled, feeling a bit weird from the stares of both his kid and his arch-rival. </p>
<p>Even though he didn’t want to admit it, Daniel found himself relating to Johnny in this moment. The pain and failure that Johnny felt was evident in his body language and words. Daniel felt the same way after the school fight, realizing that one of his own students reacted with anger and hate instead of self-defense. Robby’s decision at that moment was still a bit unclear to Daniel, but he knew that Mr. Miyagi would have never let this situation get to this point.</p>
<p>He liked to blame Johnny for everything wrong that happened, but the guy was doing the best he could with the information he had. If Daniel hadn’t been so lucky to have had Mr. Miyagi as his Sensei growing up, he could’ve ended up in Johnny’s shoes: seduced by the power and strength of Cobra Kai. The students in Kreese’s dojo are no doubt stuck in the same trance. </p>
<p>“We need to do something,” Daniel urged, after giving the situation some more thought.</p>
<p>“We?” Johnny questioned, his arms crossing over his chest. </p>
<p>“Or I do,” he clarified. “We can’t let these kids continue to be brainwashed so they can turn into Kreese’s army and go around assaulting my daughter and her friends,” he fumed. </p>
<p>“Well I don’t know what you think we’re supposed to do about it. We can’t go to the cops, to them Kreese just looks like a regular business owner. We can’t have him arrested for running a dojo,” Johnny countered.</p>
<p>Both men fell silent. They were dumbfounded and scared about the situation that confronted them, but neither had any idea how they would achieve what they needed to.</p>
<p>“We take away his ability to wage war,” Robby broke the silence in the air, quoting Daniel’s words from the car a month ago. Daniel looked at Robby with pride in his eyes. Robby caught Daniel’s look and lit up from the feeling it brought to him.</p>
<p>Johnny looked between his son and Daniel, feeling left out for some reason that he wasn’t aware of. “What? I don’t understand,” Johnny said.</p>
<p>Looking at Robby and knowing where he was heading, Sam took over, “You said that Kreese isn’t capable of changing, but his students might be. I mean, look at you, you realized the fault in Cobra Kai’s teachings, and you were his best student, weren’t you?” she said.</p>
<p>“Yeah, so?” Johnny questioned, still not on the same page.</p>
<p>“Well what is Kreese without his students? What’s a commander without his army,” Robby finished.</p>
<p>Sam and Robby smiled at each other, feeling the comradery they had when they were training in Miyagi-Do together. Sam didn’t think she wanted to be back training any time soon, but something about the memories of being in the backyard of Mr. Miyagi’s house, working toward a common goal, reminded her of the good things that came out of her return to karate. </p>
<p>Slowly nodding his head, Johnny understood where they were headed. He didn’t know how he felt about this though. He just got Robby back home with him; he didn’t want to complicate things by trying to be a Sensei again or have Robby go back to training with LaRusso. How was he supposed to learn how to be a dad while simultaneously planning the ultimate take down of his ex-Sensei? Besides, if he could convince those kids in Kreese’s dojo to rally behind him, leaving Kreese, then it would have happened already. Those kids wanted nothing to do with him anymore.</p>
<p>“I don’t know, you guys. I was there when Kreese took over my dojo. Those kids he was training didn’t look like they were ready to switch sides anytime soon. Especially not to come train with either of us,” Johnny pointed between himself and Daniel.</p>
<p>“I never thought I’d say this, but Johnny’s right,” Daniel confessed. “I tried all summer to get Cobra Kai to join Miyagi-Do. It doesn’t work. Once you’re in, you’re in.” </p>
<p>Johnny wanted to protest Daniel’s statement, but he knew it was partially true. Even if the reason for which was because Miyagi-Do wasn’t full of saints either. The group fell silent again. At lost for ideas and growing hopeless toward the situation.</p>
<p>“...I think I might know someone who would be more persuasive,” Sam spoke hesitantly. She didn’t want to go here, but it may be their only hope. All eyes fell on her, waiting for the big reveal. “Miguel is their friend. They care about him more than they care about Cobra Kai. Maybe if he talks to them, they might be more willing to switch sides,” Sam suggested.</p>
<p>“Miguel, really?” Robby scoffed, rolling his eyes. Sam gave him a look to warn him not to go any further. </p>
<p>“No, no, I don’t want to get Miguel involved in any more drama than he already has been. The kid’s had enough shit to deal with lately, I don’t want to mess him up anymore,” Johnny argued. The concern evident in his voice didn’t go unnoticed by Robby. The son bit his tongue trying to prevent himself from lashing out again, and he could feel the skin on his face heating up.</p>
<p>Daniel cut in, “Eh — it’s not a bad idea,” he stammered, “But, I think it’s up to Miguel whether he wants to get involved or not. I agree, I don’t think he needs anything else to worry about right now,” he cautioned, his eyes drifting to Robby slightly. The mood shift was strange. No one wanted to address the elephant in the room that was Robby Keene and the second floor railing, but it was hard to avoid considering the subject of the discussion. They all wanted to see the best in Robby because he was a good kid at heart, but his poor judgement in the school fight just begged the question whether he knew better or not. </p>
<p>Looking down at his watch, Daniel realized how much time had gone by. “Jesus, Sam, we have to go,” he looked at his daughter with serious eyes, as he waved her to start making their exit. “Johnny, maybe you could try to talk to Miguel. Get a sense of where his head is at and see if he has any ideas,” he suggested.</p>
<p>Johnny looked down at his feet, squinting a bit. He chose not to say anything, but knew that that would probably be for the best. Miguel didn’t need anyone trying to get him involved with their scheme. The kid needed to heal and move on.</p>
<p>Making their way toward the exit, Sam and Daniel gave one more “thank you” to Johnny and Robby before heading out the door to make their way home.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter is going to be Hawk and Miguel and I'm really excited to write it, so hopefully the next update will be ready soon!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Break Through</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Miguel makes a break through, in more ways than one.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Miguel stared down at his sock-clad feet that were resting on the pedals of his wheelchair. </p>
<p>With his eyebrows crinkling together, he focused all his attention to one toe. If he could just move one toe he would feel like he had made some progress for the week. </p>
<p>He had just finished up with his therapy session for the day and the physical therapist had reassured him that with his consistency in sessions and exercises, he would have a good chance of regaining some movement back. </p>
<p>
  <em>Good chance.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Some.</em>
</p>
<p>Miguel hated those qualifiers. He had been Googling incomplete spinal cord injuries relentlessly, and from what he’s seen, his case so far isn’t hopeless. </p>
<p>“About 1 in 8 may eventually walk,” the article read. </p>
<p>He clung to that statistic. 1 in 8 isn’t impossible. He had to believe that he would have a shot at making a full recovery, or else he might as well give up now. </p>
<p>One thing he found in his research was the importance of time. Apparently, he’s at the prime time for making as much progress as he can before things become too permanent. Which is why he has been staring at his right pinky toe for 15 minutes. </p>
<p>According to his research, focusing your mind on the debilitated body part and imagining the sensation of touch is a way to remind your brain of the connection. He may look a bit ridiculous to the on-looker, but he didn’t care about that anymore. He wanted to get better. </p>
<p>Hearing the buzz of his phone on the side table caused him to fall out of his trance. He reached over to the table and took a look at his phone. </p>
<p>It was a message from Hawk: <em>“Hey dude, practice just got out, imma stop by on my way back”</em></p>
<p>Miguel chuckled. Hawk rarely asked for permission before coming over, or doing anything really. He didn’t care though. The company would be nice — it would help him keep his mind off of the shitty way things have been going recently. </p>
<p><em>“Yeah sounds good, see you soon”</em> He sent back, followed by a long sigh as he recalled the past few days. </p>
<p>He didn’t know whether he was more pissed-off or sad. The interaction with Sensei — or Johnny, as he maybe should be referring to him now — was extremely painful, but also confusing. He couldn’t figure out why Sens— Johnny — had turned him down like that. He had always been hesitant when it came to expressing his feelings, but with Miguel it didn’t seem so difficult to him. Miguel was pretty sure that Johnny still cares for him. The part he doesn’t understand is why he is holding back. </p>
<p>Sam was a whole different story. He was pissed at her reaction toward Cobra Kai, but not surprised. She had always been against Cobra Kai; it’s in her blood. What did surprise him though was that she couldn’t look past that to be his champion in the moment. He gets she was probably caught off-guard, and she did apologize eventually, but how could she be so blinded by hatred for Cobra Kai that she forgot to care about Miguel?</p>
<p>And she defended Robby. Miguel closed his eyes, seething. He supposed there would always be parts of the LaRusso’s that cared for the boy. They had spent a whole summer getting to know him. <em>They wouldn’t have offered up their house to him if they thought he was the type of kid that kicked others over railings</em>, Miguel thought. </p>
<p>But from Miguel’s perspective, he didn’t get the hype. Every interaction he had with Robby had been less than pleasant. First, there was the time he saw him eating dinner with Sam and her family — laughing, talking, smiling — that was supposed to him, not Robby. Next, there was the beach party incident. <em>Alright I guess that one is on me a little,</em> Miguel remembered his drunken state. He wasn’t proud of his behavior that day, but how was he supposed to handle his girlfriend walking to a party, holding hands with some other guy? <em>Maybe not by trying to fight the guy</em>, his mind reminded him. </p>
<p>Miguel shook his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. The only other times he had some contact with Robby was the roller rink where the guy practically stared daggers into Miguel’s face the whole night, the All-Valley, and then the school fight. </p>
<p>Again, he didn’t get the hype that was Robby Keene. </p>
<p>But apparently Sam did. It sucked that he couldn’t gauge where her feelings lie. When he’s with her, he can feel their connection. From the way she looks at him, and from how she blushes from the way he looks at her, it feels like she has more feelings there. Before their disagreement, they were on track to mend their relationship, and hopefully get to do the things together they never had a chance to do before because of all the tension her dad and Sensei put on their relationship. <em>I guess we haven’t fixed everything yet</em>, Miguel thought to himself.</p>
<p>He wanted to have another chance with her. He wanted to take her to a school dance — they didn’t get to do that before — and he wanted to show her dad that he wasn’t a bad kid just because he was in Cobra Kai. </p>
<p>Now though, those things seemed to be farther away than he hoped. </p>
<p>In a beat of anger, Miguel huffed and banged his right foot against the pedal of his chair. He crossed his arms and blew air out through his lips, before snapping his head to look down at his feet. His mouth fell open. He replayed his actions from the last 10 seconds. </p>
<p>Eyes wide with disbelief, Miguel froze and tried to consider whether he had just imagined the movement or if it really happened.</p>
<p>He gulped. <em>Try it again</em>, he told himself. He was almost afraid to try. It may not happen again, and then all his hope for the improvement he thought he made would dissipate. Come on Miguel, don’t be a pussy, he encouraged himself. </p>
<p>Sucking in a breath, he took a chance and went to kick out his foot again. </p>
<p>“It moved!” He cried in the middle of his living room. The movement was shaky, and not very strong, but it moved. His foot lifted and fell back down.</p>
<p>Carmen came running into the room at the sound of Miguel’s cry. She looked to her son with wide eyes that then focused down on his foot before flashing back up to Miguel’s face. </p>
<p>He beamed a tight-lip smirk at his mom. Looking back to his foot, he gave it one more shake, harder this time, and it kicked up and slammed back against his chair pedal.</p>
<p>Tears came to Carmen’s eyes as she rushed in to smoother Miguel in an embrace. “Hijo, ¡estoy tan orgullosa de ti!” she gushed. Miguel’s breathing became restricted from the tightness of her embrace, but he didn’t care. After everything that happened these past few days, this made up for it all. And he was so glad that he got to share it with his mom. “Mamá ven aquí!” Carmen called for her mother.</p>
<p>His Yaya came into the room, asking what all the yelling was about. When she saw the way Carmen was clutching onto Miguel’s shoulders, light radiating from her, she knew there was something special happening. Miguel performed his new power for his grandmother who responded similarly to his mom. Yaya gave him several kisses on his cheeks and he sheepishly accepted, wrinkling his nose and laughing at the actions.</p>
<p>After a little bit of practicing and showing off his improvement, Miguel felt his strength start to tire. Carmen instructed him to take a break, and even though he didn’t want to give in to his weakness, he decided that it probably would be for the best since Hawk would arrive soon anyway.</p>
<p>Miguel headed into his room and took a break, scrolling through some of his homework that his teachers had emailed him today. Before he knew it, Hawk was giving a light tap on his door while simultaneously walking into his room.</p>
<p>“Hey man,” Hawk walked over and interlocked with Miguel’s hand, clapping him on the back. “What’s up?” The mohawked boy sat down on Miguel’s bed and began to stretch out, very comfortable with his surroundings. He and Miguel used to hang out in his room with Demetri pretty much everyday after practice to do homework or just screw-off. It had become somewhat of a routine before his fall out with Demetri and Demetri’s betrayal to train with Miyagi-Do. Then once Miguel started dating Tory, the two of the boys hanging out became less common. Regardless, Hawk still felt very at-home in Miguel’s room.</p>
<p>Miguel grinned, “I can move my right foot now,” he prided himself. Although, it sounded less cool when it came out of his mouth than it felt.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Hawk still seemed happy for him. He shot up off the bed, coming to sit on the edge and lean over to see Miguel’s foot. “For real, dude? That’s great news. You’ll be back and walking before you even know it,” he confidently predicted with a wave of his hand. </p>
<p>The support from his friend felt even better than Hawk would have known. Miguel grinned and nodded his head, “Thanks man, that — that means a lot to hear,” he told him sincerely. Miguel noticed that Hawk had lugged his karate duffle up to his room. He felt a pang of sadness looking at the bag, which reminded him of the dojo. “So how was practice?” Miguel asked, trying his best to sound enthused.</p>
<p>Hawk’s face lit up at the mention of Cobra Kai, “It was awesome,” he beamed. “Kreese had us do this exercise to try and kick a plant off the top of this really tall wooden pole. All the kids failed trying to do some fancy jump kick, but then I stepped up, knocked the pole down with a hardass front kick, and the plant came slamming down on the mat. Kreese looked at me and said I was only one fighting smart. Win at all costs, ya know,” Hawk rambled on excitedly, standing up and demonstrating his kick to drive his point across.</p>
<p>Miguel gave a timid smile, feeling a bit confused by the lesson being taught, and curious why Johnny gave Kreese permission to come back to the dojo. “What did Sensei Lawrence think of the lesson?” Miguel asked him.</p>
<p>Hawk’s head cocked to the side a bit at Miguel’s question. “You didn’t hear? Kreese took over for Cobra Kai. After what Robby did to you, we can let something like that happen again,” Hawk told him in complete seriousness. Miguel felt his ears shut off at the news. He couldn’t fathom how Johnny would let Kreese do something like that.</p>
<p>“Woah, woash, woah, wait, you mean, Johnny isn’t a part of Cobra Kai at all?” He asked.</p>
<p>“Hell no. After how that asshole betrayed us? He’s the reason why Robby was able to do what he did to you. If one of us gets hurt, we all get hurt. We’re not letting that jackass back in Cobra Kai,” he huffed. Hawk’s nostrils flared as he spat these words about Johnny.</p>
<p>Miguel’s heart rate accelerated from the things he was hearing. He couldn't believe this is how Hawk felt. <em>Was this how all of Cobra Kai felt?</em> He wondered. It just didn’t make sense. After what Johnny did for them all, to hear the way Hawk had completely turned against him was chilling. If anyone should be mad, it was Miguel. <em>The stuff Hawk was repeating could only be the result of Kreese’s influence over him,</em> Miguel realized.</p>
<p>“Is that really how you feel? That this is Johnny’s fault,” Miguel gestured to his current state.</p>
<p>Without hesitation, “Of course. Miguel, like I said, we’re all hurt by what happened. This probably isn’t a one-time thing either. I bet Miyagi-Do is planning more acts of war against us just like what they did to you,” Hawk’s fists clenched by his side. </p>
<p>Miguel sat back in his chair, letting out a frustrated sigh. “Acts of war,” he repeated. “Is that what Kreese is telling you?” He insinuated.</p>
<p>Hawk looked taken aback by his question. “Yeah, I mean, it’s what we’ve all been talking about. It’s why we’re training so hard right now, we have to be ready to fight back against Miyagi-Do when the time comes,” Hawk pressed.</p>
<p>“Yeah okay, and then what? Kick one of them over a railing?” Miguel rolled his eyes, “Don’t you get it, this isn’t solving anything. Kreese is just using you guys to get back at Johnny for trying to get rid of him. He doesn’t care about you guys. You’re just pawns in his scheme,” Miguel’s voice was calm and direct. He didn’t want to yell at Hawk; he knew the mohawked boy was fragile, regardless of the front he put up. But it bothered him to see how easily influenced he could be. The fact that he turned against his best friend just for the sake of Cobra Kai was disturbing enough, but to now want revenge against Miyagi-Do after everything that went down — Miguel was starting to understand the negative effects that ‘strike first, first hard, no mercy’ could have on someone whose self was so fragile. </p>
<p>Hawk was silent; his demeanor seemed to reflect his weaker presence during his Eli days. He shuffled his feet a bit on the floor before looking up and rolling shoulders back. </p>
<p>“It’s not like that. Kreese wants us to do well and make it in the real world. He’s been there, he knows how tough it is when you don’t have anyone to look out for you. He’s just trying to protect us,” he argued back. His blue eyes were hardened with fear and restraint. </p>
<p>“But you do have people to look out for you, man. Or at least you did, until you decided to be a jerk to Demetri and everyone. The real world is only tough if you try to go through it alone,” Miguel said, looking Hawk genuinely in the eyes trying to reason with him. For a split second, Miguel saw a flash of longing in Hawk’s eyes. It disappeared almost as quickly as it came, but Miguel knew that he made an impact. Even if it was small, it was something. </p>
<p>Before the conversation could continue, Miguel decided to change the subject, giving his friend a break. “So, speaking of which, how are Assface and Bert?” Miguel asked, smirking at the nickname he gave Mitch a while back which still stuck. </p>
<p>Hawk gave a small smile in return and sat back down on the bed. “They’re fine, they miss you. Especially Bert, you know sentimental he can be,” Hawk said. His eyebrows lifted as he remembered a conversation he had with another Cobra the other day, “Oh, by the way, how did your visit with Tory go the other day?” He wagged his eyebrows a bit at the suggestion. </p>
<p>Miguel was confused. “What? What are you talking about? I haven’t seen Tory,” he clarified. </p>
<p>“Come on dude, you don’t have to play dumb, okay. She already told the guys and I how she was planning on coming to visit you to make sure everything between you two is okay,” Hawk revealed matter-of-factly. </p>
<p>The new information made Miguel’s head feel foggy. He had no idea that Tory was feeling this way — she never bothered to visit him at the hospital once. <em>Did she feel guilty for what happened,</em> he wondered. He hoped she did. She started the fight, she should feel bad about it. Although, that didn’t remove his own guilt about why she started the fight in the first place. He had no business kissing Sam when he was still with Tory. But does her wanting to talk to him mean that she forgave him for that? <em>Do I want her to forgive me?</em> He questioned. Not to mention, she never showed up — what does that mean?</p>
<p>“Hey? Dude, you okay?” Hawk snapped him out of his trance. </p>
<p>“Oh, uh, yeah, yeah I’m alright,” he lied. “No, um, Tory never showed up. This is the first time I’m hearing that she wanted to clear the air between us,” he explained. </p>
<p>“Huh, that’s weird,” Hawk responded. “Maybe she chickened out,” he guessed with a shrug. </p>
<p>“Yeah, maybe,” Miguel sounded disappointed. He wished she didn’t. He could use some closure from them, especially if he was considering getting back with Sam, he couldn’t do that knowing that Tory was left hurt and confused. </p>
<p>He still wasn’t sure yet if that’s what he wanted to do, but he couldn’t deny the fact that him and Sam have a connection there still. The question is, whether or not they can get on the same page to make something work between them.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>One of you guessed the reason why Tory was there outside Miguel's house to begin with -- good job! Her actions will be further explained as the story evolves, but for now everyone is mostly left in the dark about her motives.</p>
<p>Also, writing Hawk is really fun. I love his character and I can't wait for more of his storyline in season 4!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. It Takes Two to Tango</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Miguel takes the trash out and encounters a Robby, also taking the trash out. Oh no!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Another one! This chapter is a long time coming. Finally Robby and Miguel will run into each other - one of the "perks" of being neighbors.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Miguel couldn’t help but smile after his therapy session today. After his break through the other day, he had a lot of expectations for himself going into the session. He didn’t want to just lay there and let the guy move his legs around for him, pretending to do the actions. He wanted to move beyond that and do the exercises himself.</p>
<p>He remembered sitting in a wooden chair in the middle of his living room, giving a demonstration of his improved kick to the PT crouching beside him.</p>
<p><em>“Sweet, that’s a really good sign for your quads,”</em> the PT had said. <em>“Figures your kicking muscles would be the first to come back, All Valley Champ,”</em> he had continued with a wink.</p>
<p>When he heard the guy’s nickname for him, Miguel felt pride knowing he still held that title. For once since the accident, the mention of karate didn’t cause a knot to form in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t have to put on a smile for show. It wasn’t like he was pretending to be something that was in his past anymore, Miguel felt like being the karate kid was still in him, trying to come out.</p>
<p>
  <em>Even more reason for why I need to train even harder, he thought to himself.</em>
</p>
<p>The rest of his session focused on trying to engage his hamstrings by controlling his foot on the rebound, as well as get the same movement on the left side. The PT suggested that since his quadriceps were first to reconnect, the rest of his kicking muscles would probably have a similar response with his brain if he keeps applying the same effort. Miguel was determined to make it happen.</p>
<p>“Miggy, can you take the trash out for me?” His mom asked, handing him the full bag, already tied off. When he first got home, his mom and Yaya had babied him relentlessly, but now that had already worn off. Once again, he was expected to do his chores and help around the house. It didn’t bother him though. It was actually better — this felt normal.</p>
<p>“Sure, mom,” he responded. She dropped the weight into his lap, and he groaned a little at the pressure falling on his gut. Taking the opportunity to rebuild his strength, Miguel slung the trash bag up-over his shoulder, forcing one arm to do all the work pulling back both wheels to roll him forward. It made the trip take longer, but every opportunity to gain some muscle counted. </p>
<p>He made it out to the trash can, only pausing once halfway to adjust his grip on the bag, and lifted the lid once he arrived. As he was lifting the bag up into the garbage pile, the door to the apartment next to him slammed closed, pulling his attention away before he could finish the job.</p>
<p>Turning his head to see the source of the noise, Miguel rolled his eyes into the back of his head when he saw a tense Robby Keene holding an identical trash bag over his shoulder.</p>
<p>Both boys stared at each other from afar. It was too late to pretend like they didn’t see one another. They already made eye contact. The damage was done.</p>
<p>With a clenched jaw, Robby looked down at his feet to avoid the burning gaze coming from Miguel. A chilling sensation ran down his spine when he saw Miguel in his wheelchair. He was aware of the aftermath of his accident, but seeing it was something entirely different. He didn’t like Miguel, but that didn’t mean that it felt good to see him permanently injured because of his own doing.</p>
<p>Still staring at his shoes, Robby didn’t know what to do at this point. Should he turn around and go back inside until Miguel was finished? Miguel probably didn’t want to see him anymore than he wanted to see him. But at the same time, why should he go back inside? He lived here now too, and they were bound to run into each other again. Going back inside would just make things more uncomfortable.</p>
<p>Robby swallowed the lump in his throat and started toward the communal garbage bin. He did his best to ignore Miguel’s dumbfounded stare as he worked his way over. His eyes kept shifting up to glance at him on his way. Each time he saw Miguel, he almost flinched at the way he was looking at him — like he was some kind of criminal. <em>I guess I might as well be</em>, Robby thought.</p>
<p>Miguel could feel his body tense up as Robby neared him. <em>What was he doing here?</em> He wondered. Then it clicked. <em>Is that why Johnny wants nothing to do with me, because his real son is back home?</em> Miguel looked away from Robby to hide his face. He wasn’t going to get emotional in front of his enemy, but looking at Robby’s face only heightened his emotions and he needed to look away. </p>
<p>Approaching the opposite end of the trash bin, Robby lifted up his bag and hauled it inside then began to walk back. </p>
<p>Wanting to just get out of this situation, Miguel lifted his trash bag up to throw it into the bin as well. On the lift up, the bag got caught on the edge of the bin. It hit the side instead of going in and fell to the ground out of his reach. Miguel let out a frustrated sigh, “Shit, really?” He cursed under his breath.</p>
<p>Turning to look over his shoulder, Robby saw Miguel struggling to reach for the bag with a pained look on his face. He slowed his steps, <em>should I help him</em>? He questioned, doing a double take over his shoulder. His conscious pulled him to a stop. Blowing air out through his lips with irritation, he turned on his heel and walked back over to where Miguel was still reaching for his bag.</p>
<p>Robby’s hand came into Miguel’s view and he snapped his head up, seeing Robby trying to help him. </p>
<p>“Hey,” Miguel snapped. “I can do it,” he argued. Robby scoffed and pulled his hands back in mock-surrender. Stretching his hand out below his chair, Miguel waved it over the trash bag some more, it just missing from his grasp. Standing over him, Robby scratched his head as he watched the boy struggle and refuse his help. </p>
<p>“You know, I’m right here. I could just pick it up and throw it in there if it would make it easier for you,” Robby suggested. There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice, which made Miguel’s nerves shake. </p>
<p>Slowly raising his head up to look at Robby, Miguel glared at him from under his eyelashes. Robby stared back, lifting an eyebrow at him with a smug smirk on his face. </p>
<p>Releasing a long, frustrated sigh, Miguel finally gave in. He lifted himself back up and rolled backwards with his wheels. When he had some distance between the bag and the boy in front of him, Miguel gave a quick glance down at the bag and then back to Robby. He crossed his arms in an impatient fashion while he waited for Robby to take care of it. </p>
<p>Without any trouble, Robby grabbed the trash bag and swung it into the garbage bin a few feet away. Miguel looked away from Robby as he performed the action, feeling embarrassed and jealous by his ease of movement. </p>
<p>Robby looked to Miguel after taking care of the trash, expecting some kind of thank you. When he looked back at Miguel, he realized that a ‘thank you’ wasn’t really appropriate in this case. His eyebrows wrinkled at Miguel’s pitiful look. </p>
<p><em>I did this to him</em>, Robby thought. <em>I ruined his life</em>, he realized. </p>
<p>A pang thundered in Robby’s heart and he felt it echo throughout his body, making his knees weak. The smug look wiped clean off his face and was replaced with his dark, green, sorry eyes. </p>
<p>Should he apologize? He didn’t know if it was the right time. How does he say sorry for ruining someone’s life anyway? There’s no protocol for this, and it’s not a circumstance he ever imagined having to figure out a script for. Besides, speaking from the heart wasn’t ever his strong suit. </p>
<p><em>Maybe I should leave him alone, give him some space</em>, Robby considered. He began to take a step away from Miguel, who was still staring sadly off to the side, likely waiting for him to leave. After taking three steps away, his conscious once again pulled him back before he could get away. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry, okay.” He stated, more defensively than an apology normally came out. </p>
<p>Miguel looked up at him then. He was confused, <em>is he really apologizing — now?</em> He questioned. Miguel wondered what had got into his system to make him decide to take this move. <em>It couldn’t have been Johnny</em>, Miguel figured. Johnny wasn’t on his side anymore. </p>
<p>“Okay,” Miguel responded confused. “I don’t forgive you,” he said bluntly, like it was obvious.</p>
<p>Robby rolled his eyes, shaking his head lightly. “Alright, well that’s fine dude, I just thought it would matter or something,” he replied, coldly. Robby didn’t know what he was expecting, but he had hoped that a little bit of animosity between them would disappear. Miguel just rejected him. Like his words meant absolutely nothing. </p>
<p>A snide chuckle released from Miguel’s throat. “Really? You thought that it would matter? Come on man, we both know you’re just apologizing because you want to get on a better side with Sam or something. You don’t actually care that you did this to me. Why don’t you just go back inside to your dad,” Miguel spit out. He wasn’t sure if anything that he said was actually a comeback in any way. He was just pissed and jealous, and pissed that he was jealous. </p>
<p>Robby was taken aback by Miguel’s words. The mention of Sam and his dad resurfaced some anger he had been trying to keep down. “Hey, you don’t know what I care about,” Robby lashed out, lunging forward with one step. Miguel flinched back in an instant before hardening his eyes and holding his ground. Robby caught his flinch though, and quickly reminded himself to keep his anger down. It wasn’t worth it. </p>
<p>“Look, I don’t care what you think of me. I can’t change it so it doesn’t really matter, but I mean it when I say I’m sorry. I never wanted this to happen,” Robby relaxed his shoulders. He stayed for one more second watching Miguel’s stoic expression before turning around and heading back into the apartment. </p>
<p>Once Robby left, Miguel’s eyes flickered back and forth between curiosity and confusion. It was a weird turn of events to have Robby try and apologize. <em>What was his angle?</em> Miguel questioned. </p>
<p>Robby headed back inside the house, slamming the door behind him as he rushed off toward the kitchen sink to wash his hands. Johnny heard the door slam and lifted his head away from the TV to see what was going on. </p>
<p>“Hey, hey easy there with that. I don’t have the budget to fix that door again,” Johnny remarked with seriousness. He noticed Robby fuming as he was washing his hands, intensely scrubbing at the skin while staring off into flowing water. Johnny squinted.</p>
<p>He clapped his hands on the tops of his thighs, standing up and making his way over to the other side of the kitchen across from Robby.</p>
<p>“You alright?” He asked him gently. Robby’s jaw clenched and he paused washing his hands for a moment. </p>
<p>“Yeah. Don’t worry about it,” he grumbled.</p>
<p>Johnny rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. He gave Robby a look when he shut off the water and turned around to dry his hands on the towel. “Really? You don’t have to tell me, but I thought we both agreed to try to be more...open, with each other,” he stuttered, searching for the words that didn’t feel quite right coming out of his mouth.</p>
<p>Robby released a tense breath. He took a moment to think, leaning against the counter where the sink rested. “I saw Miguel,” he muttered. It was almost inaudible over the sound of the TV in the background.</p>
<p>Slowly understanding, Johnny nodded his head and swallowed. “Okay, and that didn’t go well?” He guessed, judging by Robby’s behavior. Robby shot him a pointed look. “Well what happened then, did he say something to you?” Johnny’s patience was becoming thinner by the second. </p>
<p>Robby’s shoulders dropped then and he decided to cooperate. “We were both going to throw away our trash. He dropped his bag and I tried to help him because he was struggling to reach it, and he didn’t even say thank you or anything. He didn’t want my help. And then even after that I apologized for what I did to him in the fight and he flat out said he didn’t forgive me. Like all my words mean nothing. What an asshole,” Robby was rambling and trying his best to get the full story out without getting all worked up, but it was easier said than done.</p>
<p>Johnny’s eyes grew serious as he heard Robby’s side of things. He could guess that some of Miguel’s animosity toward his son had to do with him. It likely became apparent to the kid that Johnny had taken Robby in, which no doubt upset Miguel. </p>
<p>Johnny inwardly cursed himself for his crappy actions. Even if he believed it was the right thing to do — and still does — he still hasn’t forgiven himself for what he did. That look on Miguel’s face when he told him he couldn’t be his Sensei anymore is still burned into his brain. He can picture the way Miguel quivered with anger and disappointment. Johnny hated himself for making Miguel look at him like that. </p>
<p>He looked back to his son, who was still fuming with anger at his encounter with his fellow student. “Look, you did the right thing apologizing. Miguel is probably just going to take a while to come around. He’s dealing with a lot right now,” he spoke honestly to his son. </p>
<p>Robby didn’t look convinced. “Yeah, bullshit — Miguel hates me, he always has. That’s why he wouldn’t accept my apology. I don’t even know why I bothered to apologize,” he reasoned. </p>
<p>“No, it’s not just you he’s mad at,” Johnny sighed. He wasn’t planning on explaining to Robby his recent interaction with Miguel. He didn’t want Robby to feel like he was just filling Miguel’s spot for the time being. But he also didn’t want Robby to beat himself up for apologizing. </p>
<p>Robby looked confused. “Huh? Who else would he be mad at?”</p>
<p>Johnny sighed and ran his hand over his face. “The day before you came home from the detention facility, Miguel came here and he asked me to train him again, but I told him I couldn’t do that. Not after everything I put him through already,” he said quietly. His eyes weren’t meeting Robby’s penetrating stare that was probing for more information. “And I couldn’t do both. I can’t be his Sensei and learn how to be your dad. So I told him I — that I needed to move on,” Johnny revealed to him. </p>
<p>With his arms crossed in a defensive stance, Robby dropped his gaze from Johnny and looked down at his shoes. His eyebrows wrinkled as he thought over his dad’s words. He didn’t like feeling guilty for being chosen over Miguel. For all the time he spent being jealous of Miguel for having his dad’s attention, he thought that the moment he became his first priority would flip the switch for them; it would heal their relationship somehow. Except it wasn’t like that. Robby felt guilty. And he felt replaceable. Like Johnny could switch him out for Miguel at any moment once he got tired of him, which was likely going to happen soon considering how much of a pain Robby probably had been to him lately. </p>
<p>He looked up at his dad to see Johnny steadily watching him for any flicker of emotion to show itself on his face, but Robby kept his face hard.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry that you had to give up your favorite student to take care of me,” he said bitterly. “If it makes it easier on you, I can just go back to Mr. LaRusso’s and you can have your ideal son back.” Robby turned to walk away with a stoic-calmness to his pace.</p>
<p>Johnny threw his head back and cursed under his breath. “Hey,” he yelled, knowing that Robby could still hear him as he walked away. “It’s not like that and you know it,” he banged his fist on the counter top causing the appliances resting on top to shake and rattle from the powerful blow.  Robby flinched at the sound, causing him to stop walking and his body language faltering. “This isn’t about Miguel, this is about us. You’re my son, Robby. And it’s about time I act like your father,” his voice was dark and commanding.</p>
<p>Without turning to look back at Johnny, Robby just dropped his head down, arms still crossed. “I’m sorry,” he said genuinely this time. “I know you’re trying. Just — just give me an hour to calm down. I’ll come out when I’m ready,” he told him, and finished walking the rest of the way to his room, closing the door behind him.</p>
<p>Johnny let out a long sigh. <em>When is this dad thing going to get any easier?</em> He thought.</p>
<p>Robby walked over to the side table next to his bed. He opened the little drawer, reaching in to pull out his worn notebook from his time at the detention center. He thought that writing in it was something he would drop once he got out of the detention facility and had TV and his phone back, but surprisingly he found himself returning to it. He didn’t write in it as frequently, but there were still times where he had too many emotions and couldn't process them unless he wrote about it. </p>
<p>Sitting on the edge of his bed, Robby clicked his pen and opened up to a fresh page. He dated the top and then considered who he was going to address this one to. He thought he was going to write to his dad again, but he already said what he needed to to him. He considered writing to Sam again, somehow writing to her always allowed his feelings to flow. He shook that option away; she didn’t need to hear him complaining anymore, even if it was a hypothetical letter.</p>
<p>Robby looked down at the page and wrote the name that held all of his deepest insecurities and channeled anger. </p>
<p>
  <em>Miguel</em>
</p>
<p>His hand twitched with a desire to cross it out as soon as he wrote it, but his thoughts started to flow out before he could change his mind. </p>
<p>
  <em>I don’t know if you know why I hate you. I guess I don’t even know for sure why you hate me. Before the fight I mean. Obviously you hate me now because of what I did to you. I’m sorry. I know you don’t believe me, but I am really, really sorry. I just wanted to finish the fight, but I never meant to hurt you like that. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I can’t make up for what I did to you, and there’s no explanation that could justify what happened, but I don’t think you even know why I fought you so hard.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It wasn’t just for Sam. It was for my dad too. Your Sensei. For 16 years my dad could never be my dad. He gave up on day 1. I spent the first 8 years of my life pretending my dad was some kind of undercover agent or superhero and that was why he could never be around, until I grew up and learned the truth. That my dad was a loser who never wanted anything to do with me. I wasn’t good enough even for him. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My mom tried her best to make it seem like I didn’t need him in my life, but she wasn’t ready to be a parent either. I was pretty confident it was all my fault. Neither of my parents knew what to do with me, and I felt responsible. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Then one day I go to check out my dad’s new karate dojo and to see if he finally got his shit together, and I see you there with him. Him hugging you, giving you his karate gee. I was replaced. He had the ability to be a dad this whole time, the only problem was that his own son wasn’t the one he wanted to be a dad to. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It sucked. You’re the son he wanted. And now he chose me over you and I still feel like I’m just the substitute. I feel guilty because deep down I know that he would prefer you. I hate you for that. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>So that’s why. If you were ever wondering.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Robby</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you enjoyed it! I finally planned all of the remaining chapters for this story, so expect there to be roughly 25 more to go. I'm hoping that having the plan will allow me to post them faster, but I'm getting increasingly busy with school so we'll see, but trust me, when I am forcing myself to do homework and readings for class, I really much rather be writing.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. My Precious</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sam returns to Miguel's house to clear the air between them after their argument.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I was really looking forward to writing this chapter and kept trying to find time to work it in throughout the week! It was a lot of fun, Sam and Miguel just started talking to each other and all of this just unfolded itself before me; they had A LOT to talk about.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sam had been wrestling with the way she left things with Miguel for days now. Her head kept replaying the moment when she defended Robby’s actions and brought up Cobra Kai to Miguel. </p>
<p>The look on his face reminded her of the moment he saw her and Robby stumbling down the hill at the beach when they arrived together for Cobra Kai’s party. She had been so focused on getting to Miguel and explaining everything that she didn’t even consider how it would look to him if she arrived with another guy. She could remember Miguel just staring at her with blatant betrayal written all over his face. </p>
<p>She hadn’t felt guilty that day about what happened — Miguel had acted like a jerk, regardless of whether he was correct in his assumption. She still didn’t understand what caused him to be so ticked off and distrustful of her. </p>
<p>This time, though, her heart felt heavy with regret for not thinking about Miguel’s side of things before jumping on him about Cobra Kai. If she was in his shoes, she probably would want back the only thing that could make his life seem normal again as well. </p>
<p>Hearing Johnny talk about his missteps when it came to Kreese put things into perspective for her. She still didn’t think Cobra Kai’s power and aggressiveness was attractive, but she started to have faith that if Johnny wanted to move away from the hardcore Cobra Kai motto, that Miguel would be following a similar path. Miguel would follow his Sensei anywhere. </p>
<p>Sam grabbed her grey cardigan that was resting on the passenger seat of her car and pulled it around her shoulders. After what happened to her the other night, she found herself more comfortable wearing long sleeves and jackets that kept her arms guarded. When her mom asked why she was wearing long sleeves in 80 degree weather, she told her it was because she was cold inside the building at school. She told that lie to so many people recently, she started to believe it herself; deep down though, she knew it was because she was still shaken up from Tory’s sneak attack. Hiding the scar helped keep it away from the forefront of her mind. </p>
<p>Stepping out of her car, which was parked close to Miguel’s apartment entrance, she once again made her way to his door. </p>
<p>She wanted to clear the air between them. Before the argument, they had begun texting briefly and sending each other funny memes. That all stopped once she put her foot in her mouth. </p>
<p>Sam took a breath and rang the doorbell beside the front window. </p>
<p>A few noises could be heard from the outside of the door as Sam waited for someone to come answer. She eventually heard the lock on the door turning, and it opened up to a very confused Miguel staring back at her. </p>
<p>“Sam?” Miguel breathed. She could tell that she was the last person he expected to see at the moment. Sam grabbed at her scarred arm subconsciously and began to rub at the fabric covering her skin. </p>
<p>She offered a shy smile, “It’s me,” she chuckled. When he didn’t immediately respond she shifted between her feet and spoke again. “Um, I’m sorry. I just — I felt really bad about the way things went last time, and I wanted to — if it’s okay — apologize for the way I reacted.” She was looking down, unable to confidently meet his eyes. </p>
<p>“Do you want to come inside?” Miguel asked quietly. He wanted to allow Sam the space to explain everything she was holding inside. He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t still upset, but he wanted to hear her out. <em>There was a chance for them to get back on track toward...something</em>, Miguel felt. </p>
<p>He opened the door further and wheeled back enough for Sam to walk the rest of the way through. Once she was through the threshold, Miguel closed the door behind her and began to lead the way through his house. </p>
<p>“Where is everyone?” Sam asked, noticing the quiet of the house that wasn’t the case the last time she was here. </p>
<p>“Uh, my mom is at work and my grandma is out getting some groceries and stuff,” he explained. Turning the corner, Miguel placed himself in the corner of the living room beside the arm of the couch. Same spot as last time, but today didn’t feel quite the same. </p>
<p>Sam took a seat on the couch cushions and crossed her ankles with her hands folded neatly in her lap. Silence hung between them for a steady beat. Miguel was refusing to let his eyes stare at her before she spoke, but he kept sneaking occasional glances; he couldn’t help himself. </p>
<p>Finally, Sam released a slow breath out her nose and began to speak. “I shouldn’t have reacted the way that I did. I’m sorry,” she looked up at him and he allowed himself to meet her blue eyes. “I don’t want you to think that I’m not going to support you in whatever makes you feel happy. I want you to get better Miguel, whatever that looks like, and I want to be there for you, encouraging you every step of the way.” She finished and then started again, quieter, “I think I was just afraid for you...and for myself, which I know is selfish, and it shouldn’t be about me at all, but Miguel — Cobra Kai was what came between us before. It made us keep secrets from each other and I didn’t like who you became because of it. I was afraid that if you join Cobra Kai again then you’re just going to be that person that I can’t stand to be around, and I’m going to be the person who hurts you,” she sucked in a sharp breath after she finished. She didn’t realize how long she had gone without taking a substantial breath. </p>
<p>Miguel took in everything she was saying. He didn't understand. <em>Cobra Kai is what came between us</em>? He questioned. In his mind, he always blamed her dad, Robby, and even Johnny for being the forces that drove them apart. Well, that plus themselves. They didn’t do a great job being honest with each other. If anything, he thought Cobra Kai brought them together. Being a part of Cobra Kai gave him the confidence to ask her out, and if he never stood up for her against Kylar and the other jerks, then she wouldn’t have even known that he existed. </p>
<p>“I — I didn’t know you felt that way about me in Cobra Kai. I always thought that you liked how I stood up against those bullies spreading that ridiculous rumor about you. Cobra Kai is what gave me the confidence to even talk to you. Do you realize that?” He pressed. </p>
<p>“Yeah, I liked it when you stand up to bullies, Miguel, but not try to fight everyone you see. The way you were acting at the tournament last year, saying your goal was to hurt Robby and then with what happened at the beach — that’s what I’m talking about. You started saying things like ‘he’s the enemy,’ is that really the way you think?” She pleaded. Sam was getting worked up just recalling the events from last year. Her heart was still a little broken from the way he had switched into asshole Miguel mode so quickly. </p>
<p>Miguel had to stop himself before responding so quickly with another counterpoint. He was starting to understand now why she had been so fearful of Cobra Kai. It did make him different. He thought it made him better, but there were definitely lapses in judgement that threw him off balance. She wasn't there when Johnny punished him and Hawk after the tournament last year for preying on their opponent’s weakness. She didn’t get a chance to see his redemption. </p>
<p>“Sam, I was drunk at the beach party. I know that doesn’t make things much better, but that wasn’t me. I wasn’t thinking clearly — or at all. And you showed up with Robby. Do you really expect me to believe there was nothing going on between you two then?” He paused, his voice became softer and more broken,” I saw him over your house having dinner the night before. You guys looked pretty well-acquainted.”</p>
<p>Sam shook her head quickly. She had to think back to the time he may have been referencing, and her eyes widened when she found the memory. “What are you talking about? What do you mean you saw us?” She rambled. </p>
<p>Miguel sighed, “I went over to your house that day. I figured, if you weren’t going to introduce me to your parents, then I might as well do it myself. But when I walked up to your house, I saw you guys. Your whole family, plus Robby, eating dinner and laughing. You two were enjoying yourselves, like I wasn’t even a part of the picture,” he remembered. </p>
<p>Sam felt her heart tighten in her chest hearing his story. She remembered that night. Her parents invited Robby to stay for dinner and she didn’t think twice about it. He was just a nice boy that she briefly met...who was also extremely attractive, but she kept those feelings buried out of fear of what they would bring to the surface. She had a nice time with Robby that night, and it felt really good to hang out with him around her parents without worrying about rival karate dojos. But her mind was still on Miguel the whole time. </p>
<p>“Miguel, I —“ she stuttered. “I had no idea you saw that. I had nothing to do with him staying for dinner or even being there, it just happened. Why didn’t you ever tell me about that before?” She was genuinely curious as to why this was the first time she was hearing this. </p>
<p>“I guess I just thought you were going to tell me eventually. And at the time, things were weird between us. I felt like whenever I tried to talk to you about Cobra Kai or meeting your parents it would make you uncomfortable, so I didn’t want to keep pressing the issue. But that kind of blew up in my face when you showed up with Robby and I made an ass of myself,” he acknowledged. </p>
<p>“Yeah, <em>kind of</em>,” she chuckled. “Look, there’s a lot of stuff that happened between us that apparently we still haven’t gotten over. But I don’t want to hang onto it anymore. Can we just say sorry and try to move forward?” Sam offered. </p>
<p>Miguel smiled at her. Moving forward is easier said than done, but at this point, rehashing the past was doing more damage than good. “I’m sorry,” he said, sincerely looking in her eyes. “For assuming things and not trusting you first. I should’ve listened to Demetri,” he laughed.</p>
<p>Sam smiled back, “I’m sorry too. I should have just told you that I was nervous about introducing you to my parents because of Cobra Kai instead of trying to avoid the situation. It was pretty dumb of me.” </p>
<p>They both inhaled and let out a big sigh, then laughed at their synchronization. “So, how are you doing? You look a little bit more...yourself,” Sam noticed. </p>
<p>The corners of his mouth turned up, and he let out a soft chuckle. “Thanks for noticing,” he laughed. “Actually, I’ve made a bit of progress in my therapy, and it seems like things are headed in the right direction. Ready, watch.” With her eyes on him, Miguel moved his lower leg out, and held it for 3 seconds before releasing it. He grunted with the fall of his action, and performed the same movement with a little less control on the other side. </p>
<p>“Oh my god, Miguel that’s amazing,” Sam gushed. “I’m really proud of you. If you keep it up, I bet you’ll be back training with Johnny in no time,” she encouraged. </p>
<p>“Yeah, well, I don’t know about that,” Miguel’s face dropped. “I don’t think Johnny will be training me anymore,” he revealed. </p>
<p>Sam cocked her head to the side confused. “What? What happened? I thought you said you were planning on training again?” She shifted toward the front of the couch closer to him. </p>
<p>“I wanted to, but when I went over to tell Johnny that I wanted him to help me get better and eventually train again, he basically shut me down. He has Robby back with him now, and I think he doesn’t want anything to do with me now that he has his son back,” Miguel clenched his fists just thinking about his encounter with the other boy. </p>
<p>“But you have to train again, Miguel. You need to protect yourself,” she stressed.</p>
<p>“What? I thought you didn’t want me to get back into training because it was too risky. Weren’t you saying that you weren’t even sure if you wanted to keep practicing?” Miguel was surprised to hear these words come from her. He thought Sam would be revealed to hear that he wouldn’t be returning to Johnny anymore.</p>
<p>“That was when I thought I still had a choice,” she mumbled under her breath.</p>
<p>Miguel heard it regardless. “You always have a choice, Sam. You don’t have to keep doing karate if it makes you nervous,” he reassured. </p>
<p>Sam shook her head, “No, I do,” she maintained. Letting out a big sigh, her head fell down to her chest for a moment. “I have to tell you something,” she began hesitantly. Miguel leaned in ever so slightly, concern written all over his face. “The night I left your house...Tory found me. She somehow knew that I was going to be there and took her anger out on me for visiting you,” she pushed her hair back behind her ear to reveal the red and raw scratch that was starting to bruise around its edges. </p>
<p>“Oh my god, Sam,” Miguel yelped. He grabbed her hand and rubbed his finger over the back of  her hand soothingly. Suddenly, it all came together for him, remembering what Hawk said to him about Tory supposed to come see him. He gritted his teeth. He couldn't believe that Tory had tried to hurt Sam again. <em>What has Kreese been telling them all to make Tory feel like she could do something so horrible</em>, Miguel thought. He felt concerned for her; for both Tory and Sam, really.</p>
<p>“This is what I’m talking about, Miguel. Apparently Kreese has taken over Cobra Kai, and we don’t know what they will do to us next,” she fiercely stressed to him. “The only way we’re going to get Cobra Kai under control is if you talk to his students and get them to realize that Kreese isn’t helping them. You’re still their friend, Miguel. They should trust you more than they trust anyone else.” Sam was rubbing at her covered scar again, feeling her anxiety increase.</p>
<p>Miguel dropped his head back in exhaustion. He knew she was right. His conversation with Hawk the other day confirmed that for him, but this wasn’t a position he wanted to be in. </p>
<p>“I don’t want to be the mediator for everyone. Why is it that it has to come down to me?” He sulked. </p>
<p>Sam smiled at him sadly. She felt bad for putting him into this position, but she could tell that he knew it wasn’t much of an option. “Because you’re a good person, and only you can be trusted with this burden, Mr. Frodo,” she joked sweetly.</p>
<p>Miguel couldn’t help but laugh at her reference. “Frodo wouldn’t have gotten far without Sam, would he?” He quoted back. Sam’s face broke out into a big smile and she laughed with him at his playful reference. </p>
<p>They smiled at each other for a long moment, and only then did Sam realize Miguel was still holding onto her hand. Her heart jumped when she looked down and saw his hand holding hers. Her nerves grew and she found herself wanting to pull away, but unable to go through with the action. Instead she just looked up at Miguel with a shy smile, and tried to enjoy the rest of her time with him now that they were finally on the same page.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope some of you got the Lord of the Rings reference :) it just felt so right!</p>
<p>Also, I'd like to thank the author fanfic author, OptimisticallyCynical for allowing me to use their coined phrase "asshole Miguel mode".</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. The Moment of Truth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“You mean, you want to run a dojo together?” Johnny asked, an obvious cringe ingrained in his face as the words came out of his mouth.</p>
<p>“Yeah. I do,” Daniel gulped.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Looking up at the clear sky, Sam circled her arms over her head and back down to her heart-center, letting out a deep breath. She repeated the action again: inhale, arms out, over her head, and exhale back down together. </p>
<p>She continued her meditative movements outside on the deck at Miyagi-Do as the sun shone down on the top of her braided hair. </p>
<p>Her mind was completely still — a rare occurrence nowadays — she needed the peace of the morning to keep herself from getting too frazzled with everything going on in her life. </p>
<p>This was her only, real “me time.”</p>
<p>“I thought I would find you here,” Daniel interrupted. Her senses returned to the scene around her and she could hear the sudden close of the patio screen door and her dad’s footsteps on the sanded deck. </p>
<p>She stilled her motions and looked up at her dad with an annoyed expression. </p>
<p>Daniel held his arms up in mock-surrender, “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. Your mom was worried when we woke up and you weren’t around the house, so I came over here to check on you. Are you alright?”</p>
<p>Arms crossed over her chest, Sam still grumbled at her dad’s interruption of her “me time,” but shook the emotion when she realized that it was just spoiling her peaceful mood from before. </p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind right now and coming here early in the mornings kind of helps give me some peace,” she grabbed her sweatshirt that was laying on the deck and pulled it over her head. Mindlessly, her hand returned to the place of her scar and she rested it there for comfort. </p>
<p>Her dad’s eyes flickered down at her habit, and they softened with sympathy. </p>
<p>“Hey, do you want to do something today? Just the two of us? We haven’t had a good father-daughter day in a while,” he beamed, taking a few strides down the deck to be closer to her. </p>
<p>Sam gave an amused half-smile. “I kind of have some homework and things I need to catch up on,” she started, half-heartedly. The beaming smile from Daniel’s face dropped off with disappointment. “...but as long as I’m back by noon, I think it will be alright,” she gave in. She didn’t have much of a reason to deny her dad some quality time. It was nice that he wanted to spend his day with her, but she worried about the prodding into her feelings and personal life that would be inevitable. She didn’t have the stomach for that today.</p>
<p>Daniel’s wide grin returned and he squeezed Sam into his side tightly. “Alright, Danny and Sammy, just like old times,” he mused. Sam laughed at the nicknames her mom had coined for them both a long time ago. “So what do you want to do? Frozen yogurt, Golf N’ Stuff, we could go fishing? Anything you want — the day is your oyster.”</p>
<p>“Actually, do you think we could go for a walk or hike? It’s been a while since we’ve done something like that,” she requested. </p>
<p>“You got it,” Daniel grinned. “And I think I know just the place.”</p>
<p>Giving her dad a curious look, Sam trailed behind him as he walked over to the car and got inside. She followed his motions and hopped in next to him in the passenger seat, letting him take her to wherever their destination lies. </p>
<p>She grabbed the aux cord and plugged in her phone. There were a select few playlists that her dad tolerated when she wanted to listen to music in the car. She hit shuffle on her AC/DC playlist and giggled when Highway to Hell was the first song to come on. <em>I really hope not</em>, she thought. </p>
<p>The ride suddenly became familiar as Sam recognized the mountainous carvings surrounding the road they were on.</p>
<p>“Are we going to the forest?” She yelled over the sound of her music blaring through the car. </p>
<p>Daniel grinned at her excitement, giving her a knowing look. He returned his eyes to the road, wanting to stay mysterious even though his daughter already knew. </p>
<p>The long ride ended in the destination she had guessed. Daniel parked the car in the sanded lot and both passengers got out and began their walk toward the overgrown path. </p>
<p>“I knew you were taking me here,” Sam mused. She gazed around the tall trees that seemed to go on forever and took in the sound of the birds chirping. “Wow, I haven’t been here since I was like 10 years old,” she recalled. </p>
<p>“Yup, a lot has changed since then. Last time I was here was with Robby,” Daniel marveled. </p>
<p>Sam found herself smiling at the mention of the boy’s name. That was the first time she met Robby — just before he left with her dad to learn balance on the tree. He was adorable, running into the wind chimes, and she had to pretend she didn’t notice. Something about the bashful look he gave her when she caught him was extra charming to her.</p>
<p>“I can’t believe he claimed to have only fallen off the tree once,” she said incredulously. “That’s, like, unheard of. I’m pretty sure I fell off at least 5 times.”</p>
<p>Daniel laughed at the memory. “Yeah well, you’ll always be my most determined student. Remember that,” he looked at her sincerely, stepping over a branch in his path. </p>
<p>Sam giggled, “I guess I’ll have to take it.”</p>
<p>“Maybe you guys can go head-to-head sometime. We’ll have to do a Miyagi-Do lesson out here, and let everyone square-off on the tree. Whoever falls first, loses,” he suggested, trying to get her to laugh. </p>
<p>It worked, and Sam broke out with laughter. “That’s a terrible idea,” she chuckled. “I’m pretty sure Demetri would hate that,” she laughed. </p>
<p>Daniel chuckled with her at the thought. “Hey, how are Demetri, Chris, Nate and everyone? It feels weird to not see them everyday. I gotta admit, I miss not having a full dojo,” he expressed. </p>
<p>Sam kept her head down, feeling a sense of guilt for something she couldn’t put her finger on. “They’re okay. I see Demetri pretty often at school, and I think he seems alright. I don’t know, it’s weird. It’s pretty obvious that there’s tension between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do, even after that big fight. Everyone is still on-edge, and I don’t really know where I fit in,” she admitted softly. “I feel like everyone except Demetri is mad at me for what happened to Miguel, and if they aren’t mad then they just don’t know what to say to me. It’s really weird,” she repeated.</p>
<p>Daniel stayed quiet for a moment, taking in what Sam was saying. He had been noticing something was off with Sam for a while now, and he just wanted to get to the bottom of whatever it was. She had dealt with a lot of change and trauma this past year, but it was only starting to show itself in her after the fight. If he could help take some of the weight off of her in any way, he would do it in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>“Have they said anything to you to make you feel like they’re mad at you?” He asked gently.</p>
<p>“Not directly...I mean, Cobra Kai has been taunting all of us at school. That kid, Hawk kicked a soccer ball into Demetri’s science project last week, destroying it — and they used to be best friends,” Sam shook her head. “But Nate and Chris haven’t really said anything to me, and that’s kind of the problem — I thought they would support me after everything that happened. It feels like they are afraid to be seen talking to me. Even Moon has been distant. I don’t know, it’s been kind of lonely at school,” she sighed.</p>
<p>“Is that what’s been bothering you recently? Friends and everyone at school?” Daniel asked.</p>
<p>Glancing up at her dad skeptically, Sam tucked her hands into her sweatshirt pockets. “I’m fine, it isn’t a big deal, it’s just something that’s been on my mind a little,” she pretended.</p>
<p>Daniel bumped her arm with his elbow gently, “Come on, Sam. You don’t have to pretend with me. If there’s something bothering you, I want to know so that I can help you,” he stressed.</p>
<p>Sam took a breath and slowly let it out, thinking over her dad’s words. “Actually,” she began hesitantly. “There is something you could help me with.”</p>
<p>“I’m all ears,” he offered, stretching out his arms to prove it.</p>
<p>“So, I went over to Miguel’s yesterday, just to clear the air between us, and he told me that Johnny sort of gave up on him,” her eyebrows wrinkled remembering the sunken look Miguel had on his face when explaining this to her. “Johnny told him that he can’t be his Sensei anymore. That it would be too dangerous for him, or something. Miguel is really hurt by it. Johnny was like his best friend in a way. Even if it’s hard to imagine, they both needed each other, and now Miguel is just...heartbroken,” her head shook with disappointment. </p>
<p>Daniel’s shoulders tensed up at the mention of Johnny’s name. He would be lying if part of him wasn’t a little relieved that Johnny had decided to not be a Sensei to the kid. He didn’t want Miguel to be hurt, but it was hard for him to imagine Johnny being anything close to a good influence. </p>
<p>“So, what do you want me to do here, Sam? Do you want me to train Miguel?” He questioned. </p>
<p>“No, no, not that.” She took in a breath, “I think that Johnny is doing this to Miguel because he took Robby in and he doesn’t want to mess things up with him, and I’m happy for Robby, but I don’t think it’s fair for Johnny to make this a choice between the two of them. And honestly, I think if Robby found out, it would make him feel worse,” she paused, finding herself rambling a bit. “So, I guess I’m asking you to talk to Johnny. I know you guys are like, mortal enemies or something, but you know what it’s like to be a dad and a Sensei — and you’re good at it too,” she flattered, “So I think Johnny could just use some guidance. He needs to talk to Miguel, or else I feel like Miguel will think he’s the problem.”</p>
<p>Daniel let out a long exasperated sigh. He didn’t disagree with anything Sam said, and that was kind of the problem. “Sam, it’s — it’s none of our business, Johnny’s relationship with Robby or Miguel. You shouldn’t worry about it. There is nothing we can do about it,” he said, bringing his hand up to wipe over his face. </p>
<p>Sam stopped short on the trail, turning to glare at her dad. </p>
<p>“Oh, but when Johnny opened up Cobra Kai, that was your business? And when he started training Miguel, that was your business, too? And now you want Miguel to be your little birdie planting seeds in Cobra Kai’s heads so they turn against Kreese, so I guess that is your business as well,” she berated him. “But when it’s to help Cobra Kai or Miguel, then that’s where you draw the line?” She was fuming, glaring up at her dad with upset deep in her eyes. </p>
<p><em>Welp, shit</em>, Daniel thought, taking a step back from his daughter. He held his hands up, shock and fear written all over his face. Sam huffed and returned to walking the path at a brisk pace. Daniel sighed, then turned to catch up with her, falling in pace with her stride. </p>
<p>“Alright, alright,” he grabbed her shoulder, turning her to a stop. Sam pulled her arm back from his reach and crossed her arms over her chest. <em>Sometimes he was so dense</em>, she thought. </p>
<p>“You’re right,” he admitted. “I know, I involve myself with things I think are important, but that doesn’t mean I always do what is right. You’re right, I — I will talk to Johnny and see what the situation is, but I can’t promise you I’ll persuade him. We haven’t ever seen eye-to-eye. I don’t know if we ever will, but I’ll try. I’ll do it for you,” he promised. </p>
<p>Sam breathed in through her nose and let out a long breath of air from her mouth. Opening her eyes, she found herself smiling up at her dad. “Thank you. For at least, trying to do this for me,” she said. </p>
<p>“You’ll always be my number one girl — but don’t tell your mom I said that,” he whispered, guiltily. </p>
<p>“I think she may already know,” Sam laughed. </p>
<p>They turned back to the trail and continued to walk along the dirt path. Sam was so lost in her thoughts that Daniel’s next question almost didn’t register in her ears when he spoke. </p>
<p>“So, you and Miguel,” he started with attempted casualness. “You’ve been going to his house a lot lately. Are you two a...thing now?”</p>
<p>“What?” Sam gawked, trying to make sure she heard correctly. “I — I don’t, I don’t know,” she stuttered and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “We’re just friends, dad. Miguel is just my friend. He’s going through a difficult time, and I think he needs a friend in his corner.”</p>
<p>“What about you and Robby, how did you two leave things the last time you saw each other?” He implored. </p>
<p>Sam nervously chuckled. “Dad, no offense but I don’t really want to talk about my love life with you,” she honestly stated. </p>
<p>“Come on,” he nudged her. “You don’t think I have experience in this department? When I was your age, I had some moves, you know,” he chided. </p>
<p>“This isn’t the 80s, dad. You don’t ask someone to go steady and stick your hand in their back pocket anymore,” she joked. </p>
<p>“Thank god for that,” he mumbled under his breath. “But seriously, Sam. You can tell me anything. I promise to not get all weird about it, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he reassured. </p>
<p>“Okay,” Sam sighed as she gave in. “I’m kind of stuck having feelings for both Robby and Miguel, and I don’t really know what to do. I like Miguel a lot. He’s always just been so easy to talk to, and he made me feel accepted and supported from day one when he defended me from Kylar and those idiots at school. And we never really got to have a real relationship because when we were together, I was too afraid to introduce him to you guys and then he became a mega jerk because of Cobra Kai — we just kind of stopped being honest with each other and it ruined everything. And with what happened to him during the fight, I was terrified about what might happen to him,” she revealed. </p>
<p>Daniel was quiet, letting her express her feelings uninterrupted. When he didn’t say anything, Sam continued her train of thought. </p>
<p>“Then with Robby, it’s something completely different. I can’t really describe why it is that I like him so much, I just get this feeling that he’ll protect me and I feel safe with him. And I can always tell what he’s thinking, even when he doesn’t say it, I just know. It’s scary when I’m with him, but not in a bad way — in a ‘I can be myself and feel so...seen’ type of way. It’s hard to describe,” she sighed. “They both make me feel things that are important to me and that’s why it’s so hard to choose between them,” she finished, feeling more confused inside than before she started talking. </p>
<p>“Well why do you have to choose?” Daniel spoke up suddenly out of the silence of the woods. </p>
<p>Sam raised an eyebrow up at him, “Dad, I’m not going to date two boys.” </p>
<p>“No, not like that,” he hurried to clarify, laughing a bit. “I mean, if I knew how Allie and I were going to end, I maybe wouldn’t have dated her to begin with. Don’t get me wrong, we had a lot of really good times together, but the way we ended things — it broke us up in a way where we couldn’t even be near each other or think about one another without feeling angry. Sometimes I wish we just stayed friends because maybe then we wouldn’t have had to say goodbye,” he reminisced. “Now, I’m not saying that you friend-zone both Robby and Miguel, but just because you choose one doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to the other.”</p>
<p>Sam stayed thought over his words in her head. They struck a chord in her that she didn’t know was there. She hadn’t considered the possibility of staying friends with one of them. In her mind, whichever one she didn’t choose would be heartbroken and mad at her. But if there was a possibility for reconciliation, then that may alleviate some of her fear with making this decision. </p>
<p>“Thanks dad,” she smiled up at him. “That was actually very helpful,” she praised. </p>
<p>“Well don’t sound so surprised,” he laughed with mock-hurt. “Your mom’s not the only one who can do heart-to-hearts.”</p>
<p>She giggled at his antics. Looking around she spotted the tree stretched out and hovering above the forest floor, just as she remembered it. </p>
<p>“Look!” She ran over to where she was pointing and pressed herself up, followed by a leg, on the tree trunk to bring herself to standing. She wiggled a little as she stood up, but caught her balance before she could fall.</p>
<p>Daniel laughed and jogged over to her when he saw what she was doing. “Alright, let’s see those moves, Karate Kid,” he clapped his hands together. “Front kick,” he called out. </p>
<p>Together, they went through each of the moves on the tree branch, practicing balance — just like old times. </p>
<p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>Pacing back and forth on the sidewalk outside of Johnny’s apartment door, Daniel tried to find the will to knock on his door. Why Sam thought he would be the best choice to give advice to Johnny was beyond him. Johnny never listened to him before — now was likely to be no different. </p>
<p>Daniel scrapped his hands over his face one more time and exhaled sharply looking at the door. <em>Just try. For Sam</em>, he reminded himself. </p>
<p>He took sweeping steps up to the door and knocked loudly. When he didn’t answer immediately, Daniel called out to him. “Johnny? Are you home? I need to talk to you,” he said reluctantly. </p>
<p>Johnny answered the door with an annoyed look on his face. “What do you want? Robby isn’t here,” he bit. </p>
<p>A surge of relief flooded through Daniel when Johnny confirmed that his fellow student wouldn’t be present for this conversation. “No, that’s okay. I actually came here to talk to you,” he explained carefully. </p>
<p>Johnny’s face twisted with confusion and cynicism. “What is this about the other night? I told you, I called the police and they are useless so if you really want to do something about Tory then you’ll have to take it up with her parole officer,” he tried to close the door immediately after finishing his statement, but Daniel caught the door before it closed. </p>
<p>“No, it’s not about that. Look, if you could just let me inside I could explain to you why I’m here,” Daniel said, getting agitated by Johnny’s stubbornness. </p>
<p>The scowl on Johnny’s face took away what was left of Daniel’s little optimism about how this conversation would go. That was until Johnny’s stare broke and he backed away from the door to let Daniel in the rest of the way. </p>
<p>Daniel closed his eyes and said a silent prayer as he made his way inside Johnny’s home. </p>
<p>There was no direction provided to Daniel on where to go when he entered the apartment. He closed the door and turned around to find he lost Johnny. Looking around the room, he spotted him grabbing something from the fridge. </p>
<p>Johnny popped open the top of the beer can and took a big sip from it, making Daniel scoff. Awkwardly, Daniel made his way to the other side of the counter and took a seat in the wobbly bar stool. </p>
<p>There was silence between the two men. Neither knew where to look as they avoided the other’s face. </p>
<p>“So Sam told me about the way you handled things with Miguel,” Daniel started cautiously. He wanted to get right to the point, rip the Bandaid off. </p>
<p>“Oh yeah. What’d she tell you?” Johnny asked knowingly. His eyes were fixed with a threatening stare on Daniel’s face. </p>
<p>Daniel sighed, “She said you tried to cut things off with Miguel, hoping that would help you work things out with Robby. But Miguel is devastated. She thinks he needs you more than you think,” he told him. </p>
<p>Johnny looked away. He bit the inside of his lip and tried to come up with a clever response. Nothing came to mind. <em>Miguel needed him? What did that mean?</em> He questioned. He knew Miguel was hurt by what he did, but it was for his own good. </p>
<p>“Miguel doesn’t need me, he needs someone who can be there for him and be a good example. That’s not me,” Johnny said. </p>
<p>Daniel’s eyebrows twitched with confusion. “Why can’t that be you, Johnny?” He found himself asking before his mind could decide differently. </p>
<p>“I already tried to be that for him and look what happened,” he yelled. “I don’t have any business screwing up anymore kids, especially when I’ve already done a good enough job screwing up my own. I finally have Robby back in my life now, and I need to focus on him. It wasn’t fair when I told him I wanted to be there for him only to give my attention to Miguel. He needs me to at least try to be a dad,” Johnny said, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. </p>
<p>“I hear you,” Daniel said, surprising Johnny and himself. He sat back in the wobbly chair making it squeak. “You need to be there for Robby. You owe that to him, and he’s your responsibility,” he uncrossed his arms and set his hands on the counter in front of him. “But so is Miguel. These are kids, Johnny; you can’t just pick one up and put the other back on the shelf until you’re ready. It’s not about you; you don’t get to choose,” Daniel finished.</p>
<p>“Yeah? Is that why you picked up Robby only to throw him away when you thought he screwed up your daughter,” Johnny scoffed, folding his arms. That day still stung him when he remembered the look on Robby’s face after Daniel found out that Sam spent the night at his place, having had too much to drink. It killed him to see Robby treated that way.</p>
<p>From the tension rising up in Daniel’s shoulders, Johnny could tell that memory still haunted him as well. “I know. I messed that up, and I’m still kicking myself for it,” Daniel said. Silence hung over the two men for another beat as they yet again refused to look at each other. They both held so many regrets, most of which were linked to each other. “The truth is...none of these kids are going to get what they need unless we train them together. Robby needs you to show up for him and he needs me to not give up on him too. Just like Miguel needs to know that he hasn’t lost you either,” he stated.</p>
<p>Johnny shook his head, “I’m not stopping Robby from seeing you, he can do what he wants. You can train him, or teach him those breathing exercises you call training, all you want, but he sleeps here,” he said sternly.</p>
<p>“No, I’m not just talking about Robby. I mean all the kids. Miyagi-Do, Miguel, and whatever Cobras we can snatch from Kreese — they need us both. If Kreese wants war, then we both need allies,” he proposed.</p>
<p>“You mean, you want to run a dojo together?” Johnny asked, an obvious cringe ingrained in his face as the words came out of his mouth.</p>
<p>“Yeah. I do,” Daniel gulped.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was originally supposed to be two separate chapters, but I decided to add them together so that I can give you all some much needed Sam and Robby interaction and other Miyagi-Do students appearances in the next chapter. So look out for that!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Back in the Game</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>First Miyagi-Do practice since everything went down, and the kids (and man children, Johnny and Daniel), have to learn to work together again.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm still here! I haven't forgotten about this story, I promise. I have been writing bits of this chapter throughout the week and it was really really fun to write! Just some good, funny, fluffy content. I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Johnny told him that he and Mr. LaRusso decided to join forces and teach karate together, Robby really thought that he had died and woke up in an alternate universe. </p>
<p>The two men would fight over grass if they were left to themselves for too long — how the hell were they supposed to run a dojo? </p>
<p>But here he was, strolling up the long, dirt driveway to Miyagi-Do with his dad by his side, ready to learn some karate. There was a part of him excited by the idea to learn karate from his dad in addition to his original Sensei. Mr. LaRusso’s lessons helped him access a place in his mind he didn’t know was there. It helped Robby to channel his anger and pain in a way that was more beneficial than just selling drugs or pulling off heists like he did in the past. </p>
<p>However, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued by Cobra Kai’s preformative badass style of karate. It wasn’t something he was proud to admit, but the high kicks, head butts, and slide-tackle maneuvers looked really sick. Maybe not practical for winning tournaments, but a cool party trick at least. </p>
<p>A calming sense of familiarity struck him as he walked through the gate to the backyard. He breathed an easy breath and stood there for a moment with his eyes closed to take in his surroundings. </p>
<p>“You okay?” Johnny asked him, putting his hand on Robby’s shoulder and squeezing gently. </p>
<p>Robby looked up at his dad with his calm green eyes, “Yeah.” He replied shortly. </p>
<p>Johnny gave Robby one more reassuring tap on his shoulder and walked over to meet Daniel on the deck, which looked like it was in need of a good sanding, Robby noticed. </p>
<p>Standing side-by-side, the two men contrasted each other even in appearance: Daniel in a light blue T-shirt and black sweatpants countering Johnny’s black gi and cobra headband. Robby chuckled noticing the stark differences. </p>
<p>“Hey stranger,” Sam said, coming up from behind him. </p>
<p>Robby immediately smiled when he heard her voice. He turned around and took in her chipper mood. Her hair was pulled back and he liked that it allowed him to see her whole face. </p>
<p>“Hey,” he smiled. They stared at each other for a silent moment, neither not quite knowing how to act. “So, what do you think, give them like...10 minutes before they start fighting?” Robby joked, gesturing to their parents on the other side of the yard. </p>
<p>Sam laughed, “I’ll take that bet, I’m pretty confident that a fight will break out any minute now.”</p>
<p>Robby laughed with her, holding her gaze for an extra beat. “This is pretty weird right. Being back here, our dads standing next to each other, training again, it’s like everything looks the same but it’s completely different,” Robby observed. </p>
<p>Sam tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, it is weird. I’m honestly surprised that my mom even said yes to letting us open Miyagi-Do again. She was really upset about the school fight,” Sam remembered. </p>
<p>“Oh, she was?” Robby ducked his head down. His fists clenched by his sides as he felt the tension start to rise in his body upon the mention of the fight. </p>
<p>“No, not because of — not like that, Robby,” Sam gently reached out to comfort him by grabbing his wrist softly. She rubbed her thumb over the inside of his wrist and felt his body relax under her touch. “She was pissed with the way the school let it all happen and she was worried about me getting hurt again because of Cobra Kai. But after what happened the other night, I think she understands that we really don’t have a choice anymore,” Sam crossed her arms and rubbed her scar unconsciously. Robby looked down and noticed the mark on her arm. His jaw tensed, seeing the damage done to her by him not being able to protect her. </p>
<p>He wanted to remove her hand from her arm, pull her into his arms and tell that she had nothing to worry about; he would do better to protect her the next time. But he knew that wasn’t a promise he could keep. There was only so much he could do to help her. </p>
<p>“How are you feeling about starting training again?” He asked her. Sam looked up a bit surprised to have the question thrown her way. </p>
<p>“Um, I’m not gonna lie, I am freaking out a bit. Not just with the idea of fighting again, but I am a little bit nervous about being back with our old teammates. Other than Demetri, everyone has been distant from me. I can’t tell if they hate me or they’re afraid of me. It’s just a weird environment to be in right now,” Sam explained. </p>
<p>Robby hadn’t considered what it would be like to be around the old Miyagi-Do students again. <em>Would they hate me too?</em> He wondered. He had zero contact with them since the fight, and while everyone had their own part in it, the way Robby had finished the fight was what escalated the severity of it all. <em>Maybe they would want nothing to do with me too,</em> he wondered. </p>
<p>Robby gulped, “I’m sorry, Sam. I don’t think it’s on you if they are feeling that way. They might just not know what to say,” he offered. Sam’s face remained sunken even though she was nodding at his words. “And hey, if you feel weird or unsure at any time during the practice, I’m right here. Just like the wheel technique, I’ll always have your back,” he looked down at her with loving eyes. </p>
<p>She smiled bashfully at him, ducking her head to the side. “Thank you. That makes me feel a lot better,” she returned. </p>
<p>“Of course,” he said. On instinct, he took a step forward to close the distance between them in a smooth kiss. Sam’s eyes widened as he approached her, feeling the sense of familiarity with his actions. Robby paused when he remembered they weren’t together anymore. </p>
<p>Awkwardly, he reached out and grabbed her hand instead. Giving her a light squeeze, and stepping away, he turned back to the Senseis who appeared to be already bickering back and forth about a lesson plan. </p>
<p>Robby closed his eyes for a brief moment and exhaled slowly through his mouth. <em>That’s going to take some getting used to</em>, he thought, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks. </p>
<p>Before she had a chance to react to Robby’s almost kiss, Sam whipped her head around to the other side of the yard when she heard chatter coming from a group of kids approaching. </p>
<p>It was Demetri’s voice that she noticed first. </p>
<p>“All I’m saying is, if you want me to pay the extra $40 for a charging port, then you at least have to throw the rechargeable batteries in for free. I’m already spending an upwards of four hundred dollars for this lightsaber. It’s just ridiculous that they are trying to nickel and dime me over batteries,” he blabbered away to Chris, who seemed to be disinterested by the conversation. </p>
<p>Sam smiled as he went on animatedly about his situation. There was something about Demetri that she found charming. His precociousness was irritating and yet endearing, all at the same time. </p>
<p>Daniel turned to the group of students approaching and clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “It looks like everyone’s here now,” he started, getting ready to make his welcome speech. </p>
<p>“Alright everyone, fall in,” Johnny yelled from behind Daniel, making the shorter man flinch and cover his ear. </p>
<p>The kids all shared confused looks. Hushed murmurs of confusion and disagreement rang from the crowd of Miyagi-Do when they noticed Johnny Lawrence’s presence. </p>
<p>Sam and Robby looked at each other with nervousness. Robby gave her a little nod of confidence, motivating her to begin the trek over to the center of the lawn to stand with the rest of the group. Robby followed closely behind her. </p>
<p>“You heard him, come on guys, get in drill position,” Daniel piped up when no one moved. </p>
<p>“Um, excuse me, what is he doing here?” Demetri vocalized, pointing to Johnny. </p>
<p>Johnny stood up and rolled his shoulders back to stare the lanky boy down. He took a few steps toward the edge of the deck, but Daniel brought his arm up against his chest before he could get any closer to the kids. </p>
<p>Daniel gave Johnny a pointed look, “<em>Sensei Lawrence</em> is going to help me train you all for now on. He’s a part of this dojo now too. And you all should show him respect,” Daniel tasked, staring at Demetri in particular. </p>
<p>“So this is Cobra Kai now?” Chris asked. “Because I left that place for a reason. I’m not about being a bully.” </p>
<p>“No, this is not Cobra Kai — come on guys, if you’d just follow instructions and get in positions we can explain everything — “ Daniel tried. </p>
<p>“— but how are we supposed to know he isn’t just working for that psycho-path and this is all a big ploy to get Miyagi-Do to look bad once again,” Demetri accused. Robby looked down guiltily, feeling shamed, even if by accident. </p>
<p>“Because I’m not a Cobra anymore,” Johnny shouted. He felt the weight of his words as he articulated them; ‘Cobra Kai never dies’ still a faint whisper in the back of his mind from years of conditioning. He looked down at his feet for a moment and then back up to address the students. “I made a lot of mistakes when I taught many of you...and I’m sorry. I was passing on what my Sensei taught me. Kreese thought he was doing what’s right by making me tough for the world, when really, he was just making the world tougher. Cobra Kai’s lessons will make you hard, make you seem like a badass, but following them to T just makes you an ass,” he cursed. Daniel shook his head slightly at his word choice, despite agreeing with him. “I’m here now because I still believe in making you pansies tough, but I’m not going to do it at the expense of someone else.” </p>
<p>“Which is why we are working together,” Daniel stepped in. “Kreese thinks this is war. He’s trying to teach his students that we are the enemy, but in life, there is no enemy. We here to teach you guys how to defend yourself and mitigate the fight. The kids in Cobra Kai aren’t much different from you all, they just have a bad teacher. We’re hoping that if we join forces, we can turn more students away from Cobra Kai just like many of you left,” Daniel finished. </p>
<p>“I don’t know Mr. L — or Mr. LRu, I guess — the kids in Cobra Kai have seemed to get even worse. They came to my work last night and stole from me,” Chris said, still very much angry from the fresh wound. </p>
<p>“They did what?” Daniel was shocked. </p>
<p>“And they’ve started recruiting too. I saw Kreese talking to Kylar and a bunch of other athletes at our school last week. He’s trying to make some sort of X-Factor, if you ask me,” Nate chimed in. </p>
<p>“I would say they have more of a Legion of Doom essence actually. Kreese definitely has a Lex Luthor complex,” Demetri corrected. </p>
<p>“Woah, one thing at a time guys,” Daniel ran a hand over his face in exasperation. He glanced at Johnny to see an equally concerned look on his face. “It’s worse than we thought, I guess. Which is why it’s even more important that we come together as a team now and focus on training. You all need to try to put behind you any differences and come together as a team. Hell, look at Johnny and I,” he gestured to the man standing tall beside him. “If we can do it, then I’m pretty sure that means it’s possible for any of you — and that goes for any Cobras we bring in. Your collective support is more important now than ever,” Daniel finished, looking each of his students in the eye. </p>
<p>Sam glanced at Robby with a timid smile to find he was already watching her carefully. They shared a knowing look to communicate their support for each other without having to say anything aloud. </p>
<p>Sam turned her gaze to her teammates around her, and was surprised to find encouraging nods from Chris and Nate directed at both her and Robby. The moment of solidarity gave her enough confidence to roll her shoulders back and stand tall from her place in the yard, a determined look on her face to match the rest of her teammates. Finally, she took her gaze up to the new Sensei. She had no clue what would be in store for them by allowing him to come train them, but if they were going to make this work, it would take cooperation from everyone. </p>
<p>Johnny caught her stare and Sam gave a humble bow, locking their eyes as he returned the symbolic motion. </p>
<p>Following her lead, Robby locked eyes with Daniel’s proud ones. The two bowed to one another, just as they’ve done several times in the past. Looking over at the dynamic duo, Demetri followed suit, starting the domino effect for the rest of the Miyagi-Do students to show their respects in one symbolic sign of their togetherness. </p>
<p>The singing of birds and the refreshing patter of the koi pond filled the best of silence with a comfortable lull. Johnny was the first to stand, alerting the group to fall into their places in the yard. </p>
<p>With everyone in their fighting positions, the Senseis began their lesson plan for the day. </p>
<p>They started with some basic warm up drills, alternating between Daniel and Johnny instructing. Johnny’s instruction took a bit getting used to for the Miyagi-Do students, but eventually they had a basic grasp of the more aggressive style. </p>
<p>“Okay, grab a partner. We’re going to practice this next move on each other,” Johnny said. Daniel gave a bit of a weary look, which caught Sam’s attention, making her question the next steps. </p>
<p>She looked up and found Robby hesitantly gravitating towards her. Locking eyes, she smiled to reassure him that she would be his partner for the next drill. </p>
<p>They stood next to each other as the rest of Miyagi-Do partnered up as well. </p>
<p>“Alright, this is a grappling method normally called the Cobra Clutch, but for rebranding purposes I guess we’ll call it, I don’t know, the Miyagi Squeeze? We really need to change the name if this is going to work,” Johnny whispered aside to Daniel. </p>
<p>“Yeah, okay, Johnny. Just teach the move,” he waved him off. </p>
<p>“When the enemy — I mean, opponent — tries to grab you from the above, you get low, take a step in, reach under their outer leg, and pull while moving forward. This will cause them to lose their balance and go spiraling forward, while you get to walk away unscathed,” he finished. </p>
<p>Daniel nodded his head approvingly. He hadn’t taught a lot of grappling methods for karate, but since these kids will likely need to know more than just techniques for competition, something like this would come in handy. </p>
<p>“Okay now go ahead, try it on your partners,” Johnny directed. </p>
<p>Robby turned to Sam and smiled at her mischievously. </p>
<p>“What?” She asked, a confused smile on her face and hands on her hips. </p>
<p>“You ready to fall hard?” He laughed at the thought of them trying to take each other down. </p>
<p>Sam giggled, but tried to keep her serious face intact. “Oh you think it’s going to be that easy to take me down? I’ve been known to be pretty scrappy in a fight,” she raised her chin up high, taking a step closer to him. </p>
<p>Robby matched her step, inching closer to her. “If you think you can take it,” he teased. </p>
<p>“Bring it,” Sam smirked. She moved into her fighting stance and raised an eyebrow at him in anticipation. </p>
<p>Robby shrugged, “Alright. You asked for it.” In one swift motion he swooped low, looping his arm under her thigh and pulling towards himself while stepping out, just as directed. Sam tried to fight against the maneuver, but her balance was shifted before she could respond and she found herself losing control. Her back and shoulder hit the ground in a thud, momentarily shocking her from the blow. </p>
<p>“Oof,” she grunted. Sam laid there for a second, taking stock of her whereabouts from the quick switch in direction. </p>
<p>Robby turned back to see her. The twinkle in his eye fled when he saw her still on the ground. “Sam, are you okay?” He gulped, coming over to her side immediately. </p>
<p>Looking up at his worried expression, a great idea popped into her head. </p>
<p>She rubbed the side of her shoulder with a pained look on her face. “I don’t know, my shoulder feels a little funny,” she whined. </p>
<p>“I’m so sorry Sam, I was just joking, I didn’t really think I was going that hard,” Robby rambled. All his fears about the fight, what he did to Miguel, and the way Sam views him resurfaced in the worst way imaginable. He crouched down and reached out a hand to her, “Here, give me your other hand.”</p>
<p>Snapping up, Sam grabbed his hand and used it to pull him forward, gaining leverage under him. She jumped to her feet and performed the same maneuver on him, twisting backward so his feet were swept out from underneath him. </p>
<p>Robby hit the ground with shock. He kicked himself for falling for her trick, but couldn’t help but smile when he saw the beaming, proud grin on Sam’s face. He sat up quickly in a huff, “You tricked me,” he cried. </p>
<p>Sam laughed at his antics and took a step toward him. “Oh come on, you made it so easy,” she said matter-of-factly. </p>
<p>With a shocked expression on his face, Robby opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, deciding to do something different instead. He leaned forward and grabbed behind Sam’s knees, pulling her down on top of him. </p>
<p>She yelped and laughed as she came tumbling down on top of him. They both were in fits of laughter and didn’t realize when Johnny came to stand over them. </p>
<p>“That’s enough fooling around, Jennifer Grey and Swayze. Get back to practicing,” he demanded. </p>
<p>Sam felt her cheeks flush when she noticed that she was laying on top of Robby’s chest, with his arms still wound around her waist. </p>
<p>Robby reluctantly let her go so she could get up. She sheepishly stood up and dusted herself off, giving Robby a coy smile. </p>
<p>They returned to their positions and continued practicing the maneuver like the rest of their teammates around them were doing. </p>
<p>“Not that I’m complaining about being Jennifer Grey, but I’m a little surprised by the reference coming from him. He just seems so...Top Gun,” Sam thought aloud. She moved to practice the move on Robby, letting him fall to the ground. </p>
<p>Robby hit the ground and began to stand back up, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I may have...forced him to watch Dirty Dancing with me the other day,” he shrugged. </p>
<p>Sam clapped her hands over mouth to stifle the laughter coming up. “No way!” She cried. She paused her laughter, a serious look on her face. “Wait, but did he like it?”</p>
<p>Robby glanced over her shoulder to check whether his dad was listening. “Don’t tell him I told you, but he <em>loved</em> it,” he whispered.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I truly believe that Johnny would love Dirty Dancing. Like son, like father!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Fury</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kreese brings in new students to Cobra Kai and this really pisses Hawk off. Hawk and Tory have a heart-to-heart.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I wasn't expecting to post this chapter so soon, but it came to me really quickly so I just went with it.</p>
<p>Also excuse the foul language!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hawk was enraged. He stood there in the front row of the dojo, hands by his sides, clawing into his black pants. </p>
<p>On the outside, his posture remained tall and high; his crystal blue eyes were alert and focused; he had no quiver in stance. </p>
<p>But internally he was a raging fire that burned brighter than the red of his Mohawk. </p>
<p>Kreese, for some reason, brought in new students to practice with them and made each of them fight the original Cobras to earn their place in the dojo. Hawk had managed to prove himself, but Mitch and Bert were both defeated. Kreese kicked them off the team. </p>
<p>Now, in their places were Kyler and the rest of his asshole friends who used to terrorize Hawk daily before he flipped the script and essentially changed his identity. There was no telling what Kyler would try to do to him once he learned the way of the fist. </p>
<p>Hawk was so pissed at Mitch and Bert. <em>How could they let themselves lose?</em> He questioned over and over in his mind. <em>What would I even say to them tomorrow at school?</em></p>
<p>They weren’t Cobras anymore. They were stripped of their honor and back to being the losers they came in as. <em>It’s their fault that I can’t be friends with them anymore.</em> </p>
<p>Hawk thought over Miguel’s words from the other day: “<em>The real world is only tough if you try to go through it alone</em>”</p>
<p>Well that’s easy for Miguel to say, he didn’t burn every bridge in life with the only people he really cared about. There was a part of Hawk that desperately missed his sleepovers and comic book store runs with Demetri. Or just the feeling of knowing that there’s one person in his life he could rely on for anything. He may have not been popular or had any self-confidence, but he wasn’t alone. </p>
<p>Now, Hawk was alone. Even when he was with the Cobras, he still felt alone. </p>
<p>But at least he wasn’t getting his ass kicked anymore; a trade-off had to be made. </p>
<p>Kreese dismissed the group for the rest of the day and Hawk dropped his stance, but held the tension in his shoulders and jaw. From the corner of his eye, Hawk could see Kylar slapping hands with his buddies and boasting about how quickly he picked up the moves. Hawk rolled his eyes. </p>
<p>Blazing through the rows of students, he pushed his way to the back room of the dojo. His head was tipped forward and fists tightly balled — his nostrils flared with every fierce breath. </p>
<p>Without hesitation, he started pounding his fists into the heavy weight bag. He pictured his enemy in the center of the bag, and turned his fire into force with every punch he threw. </p>
<p>He could feel the exhaustion tugging on his back and triceps. The rubber of the bag pulled at his already worn knuckles, stinging his calluses, but he didn’t stop. </p>
<p>He didn’t want to stop until either his fire died or he passed out. Whichever came first. </p>
<p>“Dude, save some for the tournament,” Tory’s voice stilled his next punch. He hesitated for a moment, leaning on the bag to keep him upright as he breathed heavy. He threw one more hard punch with his left fist, aware of his audience. </p>
<p>Hawk’s chest heaved up and down as he took in large gulps of air. He stumbled away from the bag, turning to face his teammate. His expression was a distant glare. </p>
<p>“Seriously, what is your problem?” Tory shook her head. She was leaning against the back wall next to the door, arms crossed over her chest. Her usually wild hair was somewhat tamed, pulled back into a low ponytail. </p>
<p>Hawk managed to catch his breath and looked toward the door with a hard stare. “You’re not bothered, at all, with Kreese bringing in new members and kicking the original ones out?” He huffed. </p>
<p>Tory shifted her stance, coming off from the wall. “He’s making our team stronger. We’re going to need to drop the weak links if we want to crush Miyagi-Do at the All Valley,” she defended, her eyes lighting up at the mention of the tournament. </p>
<p>“Mitch and Bert were dedicated to this team. They’ve been putting in the effort to be here. But Kyler and the rest of them, they haven’t proved themselves like the rest of us,” Hawk dared a step toward her. </p>
<p>Tory matched his step, standing taller over him. “So we’ll let them prove themselves. We’ll set up another hunt in Coyote Creek or have them mess up Miyagi-Do or something,” she suggested. When Hawk’s stance didn’t change she continued. “Look, I know Mitch and Bert were your friends, but you have to let that go. It turns out they weren’t Cobra Kai material, and if you want to be a winner, you can’t surround yourself with losers,” she hissed. </p>
<p>Hawk flinched at the sensitive word. He met Tory’s eyes and was jealous to see how cold and confident they looked. Hawk had tried so desperately to harden himself. He thought he had done a pretty good job of it too: He ex’d out his closest friend out of his life; he turned his body into a machine; he threw out every nerdy comic book, Lego model, and poster that he owned — well maybe not every, there were a couple that even Hawk couldn’t part with. </p>
<p>Regardless, he took almost every step to bury Eli and spread his wings into the fully formed Hawk he now was. And yet, he still got caught up in his emotions. </p>
<p>Hawk looked back at Tory and tried to find any wavering in her eyes. “Don’t you ever get tired...of all this?” He hated how soft his voice sounded the moment it came out of his mouth. He cleared his throat, and tried again, more sure of himself. “Of hating all the time,” he growled. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just let it all go?” </p>
<p>When he finished speaking, Hawk found himself questioning whether he was speaking to Tory or actually to himself. </p>
<p>She took slow, gradual steps toward Hawk until she was almost close to touching him. Hawk leaned back out of instinct, feeling intimidated by her strong stature. </p>
<p>“Do you even know what I have to do everyday?” She asked. Hawk could feel her breath on his skin when she spoke. His lip quivered about to answer her before he realized he had no idea what she did. He assumed she had some responsibilities being on probation, but without school and the dojo, what else was there to do? </p>
<p>He swallowed and shook his head no. </p>
<p>Tory scoffed half-amused with him, “I thought so.” She sighed, “I have to wake up and be at my job at 5:30 every morning, finish my shift by 8 so I can bring my little brother to school, make breakfast and lunch for my mom, bring her her meds, go to my second job, because one isn’t enough to afford rent in this friggin state, go to Cobra Kai practice, be home in time to make dinner for my family, and finish the night with studying to get my GED so that my future isn’t a total shit show — as if I didn’t have enough to worry about already,” she fumed. </p>
<p>Hawk’s mouth fell open a bit. His eyes were wide as he took in the complexity of her life. It was beyond what she had ever shared with him. </p>
<p>“So am I tired? Yeah. I’m fucking exhausted,” Tory continued. For a moment, her eyes glistened with emotion, but she quickly retracted the expression. “But I don’t have a choice. I can’t turn this off, Hawk. I can’t just let my hair down, erase a few tattoos and have my life go back to normal. I’m not pretending. This is my life,” she finished. </p>
<p><em>“I’m not pretending”</em> echoed through his head. <em>Is that all I’m doing — pretending?</em> He questioned. Hawk didn’t know whether to be offended or relieved by her words. He had no clue she suffered this much daily. It was no wonder that Kreese’s methods resonated with her — mercy wasn’t a concept that life had ever presented to her, of course she didn’t know how to give it back. </p>
<p>He thought back to the day before school started up and before the fight that ruined Miguel broke out. Moon’s party was a night he would never forget — and it wasn’t because the cops were called on the party. He can still see himself pathetically sitting alone on the couch, watching Moon and her girlfriend, Piper, chatting from afar. He looked like such a loser. But then Demetri came up and sat with him. Even after Hawk tried to jump him at the mall with his gang of Cobras for his bad Yelp review, Demetri still found it in him to show mercy in that moment. He knows how insecure Eli used to get in large groups. It always was a fear he had to not only feel alone, but look alone. Demetri showed him mercy; and then Hawk poured his soda all over his head. </p>
<p>The fall out from that wasn’t great either — having Demetri share all of his darkest secrets to a room full of his peers was probably the worst thing Demetri has done to him, including kicking him through a trophy case. </p>
<p><em>“You do have people to look out for you, man. Or at least you did, until you decided to be a jerk to Demetri and everyone.”</em> Miguel’s words passed through his mind again. Would Demetri take him back now? After everything? Would anyone be willing to show him mercy after he took it all for granted? </p>
<p>Is that what he wants?</p>
<p>Hawk looked back to Tory. He could see the vulnerability now written across her face after sharing a part of her life with him. He couldn’t leave her here to fight this battle alone; Hawk would be a traitor to her if he decided to leave, and he wasn’t willing to break her faith in him.</p>
<p>“You know, I talked to Miguel the other day,” Hawk started. Tory sucked in a breath and her arms tightened around her body as if she was comforting herself. “I asked him if you came by, and he said he had no idea what I was talking about. Why did you chicken out?” He asked.</p>
<p>Tory’s eyes darkened, her vulnerability gone once again. She stuck a finger out toward him, “I didn’t chicken out,” she paused for a moment, looking off toward the dark corner of the room. “I saw LaRusso there. She was walking away from his apartment and getting into her car. I’m not an idiot. I know why she was there. Miguel doesn’t care about me anymore. They’ve obviously moved on and are together now, and I’m just...the mistake,” she breathed. </p>
<p>Physical contact was never something Eli enjoyed, and Hawk wasn’t much different in that way, but part of him did want to reach out and give the girl in front of him a hug. He felt like she needed that, but he probably wasn’t the one who she wanted to hug her. Miguel had always been her source of comfort, a rarity in her life it seemed.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry Tory,” he said quietly. “For...everything you’re dealing with, but I know how much it stings to see her ex move on. It isn’t fair what they did to you,” his eyes were fixed on hers intently.</p>
<p>“Yeah, well, life isn’t fair,” she said nonchalantly, as if she’s spoken this string of words several times before like a mantra. “Sam...she gets everything,” Tory gritted through her teeth. “She has a nice home, a family who takes care of her, money, two guys fawning over her, and one of them is Miguel,” her eye twitched when she said his name. “I thought that when Miguel chose me, it meant something. But I was wrong. He didn’t really choose me. I was just a distraction until he could get Sam interested in him again,” her voice was almost a whisper as she spoke. The look in her eyes was something Hawk couldn’t quite place. He expected to see total hate in them — the same look that he often saw in his own when thinking about his former self or Kyler. But instead he just saw pain. So much pain.</p>
<p>Hawk swallowed. “You don’t know that,” he offered. “I know Miguel, he wouldn’t just do something like that. You should still try to talk to him,” he tried.</p>
<p>Tory shook her head. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea anymore. It’s better if I move on. Now that I know where we stand, I don’t have to keep fooling myself anymore,” she started to walk away from Hawk, apparently done with the conversation. She reached down and picked up her bag from the ground and slung it over her shoulder. “Save your hate for the tournament; you’re going to need it,” she dared, opening the door and letting it slam behind her.</p>
<p>Hawk closed his eyes and seethed a harsh breathe out through his nose. He felt more lost and confused than before he came in here. Letting his anger boil over again, Hawk twisted and sent a solid punch into the bag, letting out a grunt with the action.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For some reason, channeling Hawk feels very...natural to me? Which is funny, because I am nothing like him. I'm definitely more of a Moon-pacifist type of person, but I hope you all enjoyed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Sensei</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"He bravely leaned forward to open the door, and his mouth fell open at the sight in front of him. </p>
<p>Sensei, he realized."</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Big chapter for Miguel!! I hope you all enjoy!</p>
<p>Also, just as a note: When I write about Miguel's spinal cord injury, I have been very cautious of the fact that I am speaking from my experience as an abled body and I have an ablest bias. The injury Miguel suffered is horrible and there's no question that it is an extreme hardship he has to adjust to, however, I don't want to present the idea that being paraplegic is a lower quality of life compared to someone with an abled body. It definitely comes with more challenges, but with the right and environment, the disabled bodies are capable to do anything an abled body could do -- albeit it may look different. Additionally, spinal cord injuries result in a spectrum of varying abilities, so also know that Miguel's experience is not intended to reflect the experience for the entire paraplegic community.</p>
<p>I say that, not because anyone has commented on my writing of Miguel's injury, but I don't want to perpetuate a stereotype through my writing, especially as I have Miguel progressing through his rehab.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>An intense focus was concentrated in Miguel’s eyes as he looked toward the beach ball that hung from the ceiling in his room by a string. </p>
<p>He was seated a few feet away in his chair. His hands gripped the arms of his wheelchair, turning his knuckles white and shaking the muscle of his forearms from his strong grip. Inhaling a breath, he blew it out sharply as he kicked his left leg out, just managing to hit the beach ball, sending it jolting up. </p>
<p>“Yes!” He cheered, relinquishing the abused wheelchair arms and pulling his elbows into his chest out of victory. </p>
<p>Miguel was proud of the progress he had made recently. Both of his legs were kicking with his control. He was still trying to get power back, but the PT assured him that that would come once his functional movement has mostly returned. </p>
<p>He still desperately wanted to get out of his wheelchair, even if for just a second to try. Every time he asked, he was told to wait a little longer until there was more growth. But it had been 3 months of waiting for more growth. He wanted results. </p>
<p>If he wasn’t home alone at the moment, he may have been tempted to try and stand on his own, but he wasn’t an idiot. Trying to stand would likely result in a pretty bad fall, and he wasn’t in the mood to be laying on his bedroom floor for the next 3 hours until someone came home. </p>
<p>He hated that he was so dependent on others now. When he went to the bathroom he had to ask for help; when he needed something off the top shelf he had to ask for help; every night when he went to bed he needed to ask for help. </p>
<p>He felt like such a bother. His mom and Yaya never made him feel like one, but he knew it took a toll on them. When he began pushing himself to recover faster, it was mostly for his own sake: He wanted to do karate again and be back to his normal self. Now, though, he really wants to get better to relieve the burden on his mom and Yaya. </p>
<p>Their tiny apartment wasn’t handicap-accessible, and they didn’t have the money to make it easier for Miguel to move around by himself either. The faster he could get better, the faster they would be relieved from having to take care of him all the time. </p>
<p>The knock at the door startled Miguel. His PT session for today had ended, and he wasn’t expecting anyone else. <em>Maybe Yaya forgot her keys again</em>, he thought to himself. </p>
<p>He pushed himself through the house, grabbing a baseball bat on his way to the door just in case. </p>
<p>From what he could see through the blinds as he approached the door, the person standing outside looked too tall to be his Yaya or any of his friends. </p>
<p>Too low to peer through the peephole, Miguel gripped the bat a little firmer in his hand and drew it back. He was ready to release his fury on the unexpecting visitor just in case the person turned out to be a serial killer or something. </p>
<p>He bravely leaned forward to open the door, and his mouth fell open at the sight in front of him. </p>
<p><em>Sensei</em>, he realized. </p>
<p>Johnny gulped, and awkwardly shifted in his stance. “Were you planning on hitting me with that?” He questioned, gesturing to the bat still firmly in Miguel’s hand at the ready. “I thought I taught you better than that. You know not to use a weapon that could be turned against you, Miguel,” he lectured casually. </p>
<p>Miguel just stared at him confused. He couldn’t tell whether Johnny was trying to be funny to lighten the mood or if he just completely forgot about their last interaction, which left Miguel crying for hours afterward. </p>
<p>Finally, Miguel managed to tear his eyes away from the figure in front of him. “What are you doing here?” He growled under his breath, staring at the ground. </p>
<p>Johnny sighed. The tone of Miguel’s voice hit a nerve in him, causing his face to fall, as he realized the pain he caused the boy. He had a large stack of papers in his hand and he slapped it against his thigh nervously. </p>
<p>“I know I hurt you,” Johnny managed. Miguel still refused to give him his attention, but his shoulders tensed up toward his neck from Johnny’s words. “I thought I was doing what was right — for the both of us. But I had it all wrong.” He swallowed the lump in his throat, “I’m sorry, Miguel...I let you down, again,” his voice cracked. </p>
<p>At this, Miguel looked up hesitantly. He could see the emotion written all over Johnny’s face. It made him feel for the man in front of him, even if he didn’t want to. </p>
<p>“The truth is, I have no idea how to do the right thing. It seems like, every time I try, I end up screwing something else up,” Johnny continued. He was still standing in the doorway, but the parking lot and space around him seemed to disappear and all he cared about was making sure Miguel knew how much he cared about him. “But you teach me how to be better, Miguel. I need your faith in me. And you’re if you’re going to ditch these wheels, you’re going to need me too,” Miguel laughed softly and rolled his eyes at his statement. “So what do you say, you’re going to let me be your Sensei again?” </p>
<p>Johnny looked desperately at Miguel. The beating of his heart accelerated in a familiar way that took him back to sitting across from Robby at the detention center. The waiting for acceptance was killing him slowly. </p>
<p>Miguel’s eyes were colored with hurt and uncertainty. Sensei always did right by him, and he never thought that he would make him question whether he could trust him. But at this moment, Miguel still wasn’t sure. </p>
<p>“It was because of Robby, wasn’t it?” Miguel murmured. </p>
<p>One of Johnny’s hands came up to scratch the back of neck. He sucked his lips in, thinking over Miguel’s question. “Remember when I brought you to that diner — the one with the sick burgers — and I told you about the day Robby was born? How I gave up on day 1,” Johnny recalled, painfully. Miguel nodded his head, eyes squinting. “What did I say to you then?”</p>
<p>Miguel sighed, “You promised that you’d always be on my side, and that you’d always have my best interest at heart.” Miguel swallowed, feeling the weight of Johnny’s broken promise. </p>
<p>“That’s right,” Johnny exhaled sharply. “I’m not breaking that promise. I’m on your side, Miguel. And everything I’ve done is because I care about you and I don’t want to see you get hurt again,” Miguel’s eyes softened with hope. “But I need to make that promise to Robby too. Being a dad still scares the hell out of me, but running away from our fears, well that would just make me a pussy, wouldn’t it?” Miguel’s head dropped and he laughed silently. </p>
<p>A quiet moment stretched between the two of them. Miguel mulled over Johnny’s words, trying to find a reason to not accept his apology. That wasn’t Miguel’s style, though. </p>
<p>He looked up at the man in front of him, proud to be able to call him his Sensei again. A glimmer of a smile etched across Miguel’s face, “Okay,” he nodded. “But you’re not allowed to give up again — on either of us,” he commanded. He never thought he would be advocating on behalf of his rival, but succeeding as a dad was something Miguel wanted for Johnny, if anything. </p>
<p>“Yes, Sensei,” Johnny smirked. </p>
<p>They shared a laugh together and it felt like the way things used to be when it was just the two of them in the little strip mall together. </p>
<p>“Alright, so are you going to let me in or what? We have some work to do, Wheels,” Johnny teased. </p>
<p>Miguel pushed himself out of the doorway, opening up the space for Johnny to walk the rest of the way in. “My mom doesn’t get back until after 5, so we have until then to train together. She doesn’t really...trust you yet,” Miguel explained. </p>
<p>Johnny felt a little hurt hearing that he didn’t have Carmen’s trust, but tried to push that feeling down for the time being. “I thought you said you got the go-ahead?” He accused, closing the door behind him. </p>
<p>“Well, I did. But only under the condition that she is here when you help with my rehab, and she also said no karate,” Miguel admitted. </p>
<p>Johnny scoffed, “Great,” he ran a hand down his face. “Okay, I guess we can train today and just make sure we’re done before your mom gets home. I’ll talk to her. See if I can get her to change her mind. Where’s your grandma?”</p>
<p>“Yaya is out getting groceries, but it’s okay if she comes home. She won’t snitch, I think she still likes you.” Miguel looked down and noticed the thick stack of papers in Johnny’s hand. “What is that? Why did you kill a bunch of trees?” </p>
<p>Johnny grinned proudly, “This is your recovery plan,” he nodded slowly. Miguel was still confused. “I printed out the Internet. Found this website called ‘Web-em’d,” he mispronounced, using air quotes to signify his find. </p>
<p>Miguel rolled his eyes back into his head, sighing, “Oh no…”</p>
<p>“Everything you need to know about fixing spinal cord injuries like yours, all. Right. Here,” he tapped his stack of papers for emphasis. </p>
<p>Miguel cocked his head and stared at Johnny dumbfounded. “So why did you print it all out — if it was on the Internet?”</p>
<p>“Because, I needed it here,” he answered matter-of-factly. </p>
<p>“Whatever, just, promise me you’ll recycle when you’re done?”</p>
<p>“Recycling is a myth, it all just goes to the same place,” he responded. Miguel sighed, but he struggled to keep a straight face at Johnny’s answers. It amazed him how this man managed to still live in the 80s, despite having spent the last two decades in the 21st century. </p>
<p>“So let’s see, how much progress have you made so far with those legs?” Johnny asked.</p>
<p>Miguel smiled hesitantly up at him, then gripped the slides of his chair firmly. Squinting his eyes, he mustered a decent kick with his right leg. After he performed the action, he looked back up to Johnny for approval.</p>
<p>The look on Johnny’s face wasn’t promising to Miguel. “That’s it?” Johnny groaned. </p>
<p>Miguel sighed and fell back in chair defeated. He gave Johnny a look.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” he said curtly. “I was just hoping that you could be closer to standing so we could get back to training.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, well, me too, but my physical therapist doesn’t want to push me too far. He’s afraid it would psych me out or something,” he explained, his shoulders slugging inward. </p>
<p>Johnny scoffed, “Bull shit. He thinks that because he doesn’t know you. You’re the All Valley champ. Are you going to let some little setback keep you from moving forward?” </p>
<p>“It wasn’t really a ‘little setback,’ I fell from a second floor railing and cracked two of my vertebrate—“</p>
<p>“QUIET,” Johnny boomed, shocking Miguel. Miguel sat straight up in his chair, eyes alert. The familiarity of the tone sent chills down Miguel’s body, and he felt some of his determination reengage. </p>
<p>Johnny began pacing around Miguel’s wheelchair, “You don’t need a ‘doctor’ to tell you what you can or cannot do. Baby steps will get you nowhere. If you want to do karate again, you have to rip off the Pampers and start going full commando, like a real man.” Miguel quirked his eyebrow at the analogy. Johnny continued, “Now come on, stand,” he commanded. </p>
<p>Miguel’s shoulders fell forward, “I can’t,” he argued. </p>
<p>Crouching down to his level, Johnny got right in his face. “We’re going to do this together, okay?”</p>
<p>Miguel swallowed and nodded his head. Holding onto his locked forearms, Johnny supported Miguel as he guided him to standing. Miguel’s legs wobbled on the way up. His face was clenched from the exertion on his legs. With Johnny alleviating some of the struggle, Miguel was able to press himself to a full standing position. </p>
<p>“Oh my god,” Miguel breathed. His face beamed the brightest smile Johnny had seen. “I’m doing it! I’m standing,” he awed. </p>
<p>Johnny looked upon him with proud eyes. The strings of his heart pulled from seeing Miguel be so stunned by the simple action.</p>
<p>“I knew you had it in you, kid.”</p>
<p>Miguel stared back into Johnny’s eyes, “Thanks, Sensei.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Honesty is Such a Lonely Word</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Johnny tells Robby about having Miguel back in his life, and Robby doesn't take the news very well.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I am here!! Life keeps getting busier and busier, but don't worry, I haven't forgotten about this story at all. This chapter was a little difficult to write because...well you'll see...it wasn't very happy, and I kind of just wanted to write something happy while I was struggling with work and everything in my own life. But regardless, I like the way it came out! I hope you all like it too.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a few days since Johnny’s breakthrough with Miguel, and he had yet to tell Robby about what was going on. He was stalling. Johnny had no idea how Robby would react to the news that Miguel was back in his life again and that they would be training together. Judging by the way he freaked out and yelled at him at the very mention of Miguel after the taking out the trash incident, Johnny guessed that this would go even worse. </p><p>But he had to tell him. He just finished talking to Carmen and got her to let Miguel train with Miyagi-Do. </p><p>It took a lot of convincing, and it ultimately came down to whatever Miguel’s grandma said to her that got her to give in. </p><p>Johnny was pained by her reluctance to trust him again. He could sense that Carmen was still angry with him — as she should be — but he also felt something deeper there. It was like she was holding herself back from giving into him.</p><p>Johnny tried not to think about it for too long. It was a worthless endeavor to consider that she may once again like him. He screwed that up for good. </p><p>Letting out a sigh, Johnny shook his head to shake off all those feelings. He took a breath and turned his doorknob, heading inside his apartment for another difficult conversation. </p><p>The smell of marinara sauce and sautéed garlic greeted him as soon as he walked into the tiny apartment. He looked into the kitchen and saw Robby standing in front of the stove mixing something in the only pot Johnny owned. </p><p>Robby turned when he heard Johnny put his keys down on the side table. He gave him a smile over his shoulder and then proceeded cooking. “Hey, I thought maybe we could have dinner and watch a movie tonight?” He asked with naive eyes. “Mom and I used to do things like this sometimes. Well, we did until she got off track again,” he mumbled cautiously. </p><p>Johnny scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Robby looked back at him confused when he didn’t answer right away. Johnny gave him a reassuring smile, “Yeah. Yeah that sounds great, Robby.”</p><p>Taking a few steps toward the kitchen, Johnny peered over to see what Robby was making. His eyes widened at the intricate recipe he was preparing. Johnny clapped the back of one of Robby’s shoulders, “Wow, that looks great. I didn’t know you could cook.”</p><p>“I kind of only know how to make one thing,” Robby chuckled. “Sam’s grandma stayed at the house a few times while I was with the LaRusso’s, and she asked me to help her cook dinner one night. It was fun, so I did it a few other nights as well” he shrugged.</p><p>Johnny nodded slowly, a little upset that his own son learned family recipes from a different family — and the LaRusso’s at that. Robby looked happy recalling his memories from his stay, though, and there was something about the way he was sharing one of the LaRusso’s famous dishes with him that made Johnny feel like he was trying to build a bridge between the two worlds. </p><p>“Well it smells great,” Johnny nodded. He shuffled his feet a bit, thinking about Miguel, but not wanting to break this moment. “Can I help you?” He swallowed. </p><p>Robby paused his mixing for a moment. His eyes widened with a mix of hope and skepticism. “Yeah, if you want to,” he said cautiously. </p><p>Johnny nodded, and proceeded to open a drawer and pull out an apron. He opened it up to reveal the script “Kiss the Chef” embroidered across the front. </p><p>“Woah, woah, no, put that back, Bobby Flay,” Robby laughed, rubbing his free hand over his face with embarrassment. “You don’t cook, why do you have that?” </p><p>Johnny smirked, “Because, chicks dig cooks,” he looped the apron over his head. </p><p>Robby scoffed, “I doubt anyone would actually fall for that.”</p><p>“It worked on your mom,” Johnny added. </p><p>Robby’s head shot up from his stirring and glared at Johnny for mentioning his mom, then faltered to a confused stare. He had heard bits and pieces of how his mom and dad met; mostly from his mom, and he wasn’t sure how much of it was true. </p><p>But he didn’t know if he wanted the full story. Their relationship wasn’t like ones out of a Rom-Com — they didn’t have a happy ending, and so he doubted the way they met would be cute either. </p><p>“Alright, so what should I do?” Johnny asked, moving his hands around awkwardly. </p><p>Robby gave him a task and the two moved side-by-side to prepare the rest of the meal. They stayed mostly quiet — working in a comfortable silence that was only interrupted by the occasional short direction from Robby and “thank you” or “you’re welcome”. Despite the silence, it was still nice. Robby found himself enjoying his dad’s company more than he thought. When they weren’t disagreeing, they actually seemed to have a lot in common, like hating small talk and eating before bed. </p><p>When dinner was ready, Robby moved the dish of Baked Ziti to the center of the countertop, while Johnny grabbed two plates and forks to set their places. They sat down and immediately started to dig in. </p><p>Taking a huge bite, Johnny hummed in approval at the flavor that overtook him. </p><p>“It’s good, right,” Robby confirmed knowingly with a mouth full. </p><p>“Mmm,” Johnny mumbled, nodding his head fiercely. He swallowed, “I may not like the LaRusso’s, but I’ll give them credit for this recipe.”</p><p>“I know you still don’t get along with Mr. LaRusso, but since you two have started teaching together, I think our training has been stronger than ever. You two make a good team,” Robby shrugged. </p><p>“That’s because before I showed up, none of you guys were doing real karate,” Johnny grumbled, shoving another bite into his mouth. </p><p>Robby sighed and shook his head. “I’m serious. We’re better at offense and getting stronger in defense. It takes both of your styles to make us good fighters. It’s called balance,” Robby said. </p><p>“You sound like a mini LaRusso,” Johnny scoffed. Robby shook his head, looking back to his plate. “But you’re probably right. Teaching with him is actually not as bad as I thought. Maybe it is a good thing,” Johnny admitted, watching his son closely. </p><p>Robby looked up and offered a small smile of approval. He took a deep breath, setting his fork down. “Dad, I — I just want to say I’m — I’m sorry for how I reacted when you told me about Miguel the other day. I don’t know why it bothered me. I think I felt like you weren’t choosing me because you wanted to, but because you had to, and that made me feel pretty shitty,” Robby lamented. “But I appreciate what you did. I know that it probably was really difficult for you to face Miguel and tell him that, so, thank you. It means — it means a lot.”</p><p>Robby had been looking down at his plate, pushing his food aside unconsciously. It was difficult to get the words out to thank his dad. Robby was a pretty honest guy. He didn’t usually have trouble admitting when he was wrong or giving credit where credit was due, but with his dad was a different story. It took a lot of will to be honest with how he feels to Johnny. </p><p>Johnny closed his eyes and uncomfortably rubbed the side of his head. He wasn’t expecting Robby to bring up Miguel like this, or thank him for choosing Robby over Miguel. It made his next news that much more difficult to get out. </p><p>“Robby,” Johnny started. He shifted in his seat and tried to gain the confidence to look at his son in the eyes. “I need you to know that I always want to choose you. No matter what my actions have said in the past, or what I do now, I’ve always — always wanted you in my life. I’m just sorry that it’s taken this long to get here,” Johnny stated. </p><p>Looking up at his dad to meet his eyes, Robby gave him a slightly confused glance. “Yeah, I mean this doesn’t make up for all of those years, but it’s a start. I’m glad that we’re doing this,” he confirmed. </p><p>Johnny cleared his throat, “I know. I know it doesn’t fix everything, but I want you here with me, which is why I need to be honest with you, and I want you to be honest with me too.”</p><p>Robby’s forehead wrinkled and he stared up at his dad with perplexed eyes. </p><p>“I realized that what I did to Miguel in order to be here for you, wasn’t fair to him. Just like it wasn’t fair to you when I started training Miguel instead of trying to keep fixing things with you,” Johnny took a deep breath. “So, yesterday I made things right and I told Miguel that I would be his Sensei again. Someone to help him with his rehab, guide him, and train him when he gets better. He’s coming to Miyagi-Do practice with us tomorrow morning,” Johnny finished. </p><p>He sat back and watched Robby not move an inch after hearing the news. His face was set in a deep frown with his jaw and shoulders tense. His fists balled up and clenched on top of the table, unmoving. </p><p>Johnny waited a few seconds that felt like forever before continuing, “This doesn’t change anything about us, you’re still my priority, Robby—“</p><p>“Save it,” Robby snapped. He stood up from the table, plate left mostly untouched. “You can cut the crap. I should’ve known that you would never really choose me over Miguel,” he grumbled. </p><p>Johnny stood up to match Robby, “I did choose you Robby. I meant what I said, I want to show up for you and start acting like your dad. But I have a responsibility to Miguel too. I’m already a part of his life, I can’t take that away from him, especially when he’s already just lost so much because of you,” Johnny yelled. </p><p>Robby flinched at Johnny’s words. His face contorted into a painful scowl as the memories of that day and the aftermath of his mistake flooded back to him. His shoulders folded inward and he tried to hold back the tears that were desperately trying to surface out of frustration and regret. </p><p>Watching his son’s involuntary response, Johnny sighed and ran both hands down his face with guilt. “No, I’m — I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put all that on you, I know you didn’t do it on purpose,” Johnny cautiously backtracked. </p><p>The tears that Robby tried so hard to hold back came spilling over and down his face. He looked up at Johnny, “Do you know why we were fighting so hard? The real reason?” Robby cried. Johnny shook his head, stunned. “It was because of you. All of my anger and pain over never having you in my life. Of you so easily being a dad to Miguel and not to me. Everything. That’s what we were fighting about,” Robby tore into him. </p><p>“I — I didn’t know,” Johnny wordlessly shook his head. </p><p>Robby sniffed and tried to wipe the tears from his eyes, feeling stupid for getting emotional about something his dad would never seem to understand. “You wouldn’t,” he shrugged. “And now that Miguel’s back, I guess I’ll just be forgotten again.”</p><p>Without another word, Robby grabbed his plate of food and turned around heading back to his room, slamming the door shut behind him. </p><p>Once he got back, he let himself finish breaking down. His body shuddered with tears as he laid his head on the bed, holding his pillow close to his body. </p><p>When the tears stopped flowing and his body’s rhythms returned to normal, Robby pulled himself up from his bed. He looked at his plate of food that had been sitting next to him for who knows how long now, getting cold. He didn’t have much of an appetite anymore, though. </p><p>He wanted to do something nice for his dad. To say sorry for how he had lashed out, and to give them something to bond over like he used to try to do with his mom. <em>I miss her</em>, Robby thought in the moment. </p><p>Instead, the night went in a completely different direction. The worst part about it was that he wasn’t sure if he was justified to feel crappy for his dad’s decision. He had his reasons, but to an outsider, they would probably say his dad was doing the right thing; that made his feelings even worse. </p><p>He thought his dad was finally choosing him. Not Miguel. Not his freedom. But actually committing himself to being his dad. Now Robby didn’t know what to think. </p><p>Needing to express his emotions in some way to sort out these feelings, Robby reached over to where he kept his notebook and opened up to a new page. He grabbed his pencil and put it to paper to begin writing, but just his luck: the tip broke. </p><p>Letting out a frustrated sigh, Robby stood up and started scanning the room for another writing utensil. As he was shifting through papers in a box near the closet, familiar handwriting caught his attention, pausing his searches. </p><p>Robby pulled the handwritten letter out and started the read:</p><p>
  <em>Dear Robby,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I know you refuse to answer my calls, and I refuse to text or email, so I’m going old school and writing this letter. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’ve done a lot of thinking lately, and I’ve realized just how much I’ve screwed up my life. But my biggest screw up is my relationship with you. I know I can’t change the past, but if you give me a chance, I promise to be the dad you’ve always wanted me to be. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>You’re the most important thing in my life. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I love you,<br/>Dad</em>
</p><p>Robby read the last three words before the signature over and over again in his head. He’s never heard his dad say I love you to him before. Even if it was written, the words still made an impact. </p><p>He glanced all over the page looking for a date. In the top right hand corner, the letter was dated just about a year ago. It was about the same time he had started working at LaRusso Auto to make his dad mad and had begun his training with Mr. LaRusso. </p><p>That felt like so long ago now. </p><p>Robby looked back down at the letter and wrinkled his nose. Why did he write a letter only to never send it? Robby asked himself. Maybe he never wanted me to read this. </p><p>Robby didn’t know what to think. The words in the letter were all things he maybe would have wanted to hear a year ago. Now though, they felt like repetitions of promises that Johnny couldn’t keep. </p><p>His day with training was going to be very interesting tomorrow. Robby wasn’t looking forward to it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>In season 1, episode 8 Johnny writes Robby a letter that NEVER gets acknowledged again!! So naturally I had to make Robby read it. This chapter was hard to write because I just want Robby to be happy and for both Johnny and Robby to get along, but unfortunately it isn't that easy for them. Next chapter will be a very interesting one with Miguel, Robby, Sam and all of Miyagi-Do trying to all practice together...stay tuned!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Picking Sides</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Miguel comes to a Miyagi-Do practice and things get tense between him and Robby. Sam has figure out how to be there for both boys.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I just finished this chapter and I want to post it before I forget! It played out differently than how I thought it was going to, but I think I'm decently satisfied with the final product.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The car ride to Miyagi-Do felt like the longest 20 minutes Miguel had ever experienced. </p>
<p>He sat in the back of Johnny’s dodge caravan, staring out the window and trying to ignore the piercing daggers being sent by Robby through the rear view mirror. </p>
<p>When Johnny had offered to drive him to practice today, Miguel had been close to saying no, figuring that Robby would be tagging along as well. But against his better judgement, he ended up saying yes out of desperation for a ride. </p>
<p>Miguel really wanted to come to practice. Even if he wasn't a Miyagi-Do fan from the beginning, most of his friends were a part of it, who he hadn’t really been able to hang out with since Cobra Kai became their rival. </p>
<p>He also was just excited to see Sam. Knowing she would be there made this whole car ride from hell worth it. He had been looking forward to showing her the progress he has made in his recovery since the last time they talked. Thanks to Johnny and his own work ethic, Miguel was starting to use his crutches to get around the house and do more things on his own. It wasn’t 100% of the time because he still got tired, but it was a huge improvement from a week ago, and it gave him hope of feeling back to himself again.</p>
<p>The car pulled up to the dirt driveway of Miyagi-Do, and Miguel took in the serene surroundings. It looked a lot different during the day time, he noticed. The unpolished environment and natural tint to the dojo appeared to be a stark contrast from Miguel’s perception of the LaRussos. They always seemed so put together and refined in his mind. Looking around at the rusty cars and humble condo in front of him felt somewhat refreshing. </p>
<p>Johnny came over to help Miguel out of his seat in the back and set him up with his crutches. The way Robby had stormed out of the front seat and blew past Johnny and him on his way through the gates didn’t go unnoticed by Miguel. He rolled his eyes at the dramatism of Robby’s actions. </p>
<p>“You got it?” Johnny asked, getting ready to remove his grip around Miguel’s torso. </p>
<p>He nodded his head, “Yeah, I’m good,” he confirmed. </p>
<p>Following Johnny’s lead, Miguel worked his way across the driveway and through the gates being held open for him by Johnny. </p>
<p>Once he got through the threshold to the backyard, Miguel tried to take in the beautiful atmosphere that came into his view. Before he could fully appreciate it, his gaze was interrupted by a chorus of cheers calling out his name. </p>
<p>“Miguel! Hey buddy, welcome to the light side of the force,” Demetri welcomed, coming up right to Miguel’s space, clapping a hand on his shoulder gently. </p>
<p>“How are you, man? You look like you’re doing a lot better,” Chris said, walking toward Miguel’s other side with Nate tagging along closely. </p>
<p>Miguel ducked his head bashfully from all the attention and smiled. “Thanks guys, yeah, I’m getting better — day by day,” he nodded. </p>
<p>He couldn’t help himself as he searched through the crowd of Miyagi-Do students looking for Sam in particular. Finally he spotted her hesitantly watching a few feet away. One of her arms was crossed over her body protectively, and he noticed her lightly brushing over the scar on her arm. </p>
<p>Miguel caught her eye, and Sam’s face brightened up to a big smile. Unconsciously, Miguel began to walk toward her slowly with his crutches, leaving behind the Miyagi-Do students who all shared a glance. </p>
<p>“Miguel, I’m — I’m speechless. You’re doing so well,” Sam gushed once he reached her. </p>
<p>“Yeah, well I had a pretty intense trainer to motivate me,” he joked, glancing over at Johnny. </p>
<p>Sam giggled, “Well I knew you could do it. If anyone can, it’s you.”</p>
<p>He couldn’t help the blush that rose up through his cheeks. “Um, Johnny told me how you talked to your dad and kind of...pushed Johnny in the right direction,” Miguel began seriously. “Thank you for that. It was really hard without him to be there for me, so you doing that — it means a lot,” he looked at her in the eyes deeply. </p>
<p>“Of course,” she tucked a wavy piece of hair that had fallen out of her bun back behind her ear. “I could tell how much he meant to you, and I’m just glad I could help,” she said softly. </p>
<p>“Well you definitely did.”</p>
<p>They looked into each other’s eyes smiling for a moment. Out of the corner of her eye, Sam caught a glimpse of Robby watching her with Miguel. She tried not to look over in his direction to make things weird, but she could sense his sour mood from the moment he stormed into the dojo and went straight to practicing his kata. </p>
<p>Before she could stop herself, she broke her gaze with Miguel to take a peak over at Robby on the other side of the dojo. His head whipped away the moment she glanced over. He fumbled with his moves for a moment, then shook his head, and made a beeline inside the dojo. </p>
<p>Sam blinked and looked down at her shoes. She knew that Miguel being around was probably weird for him, but she didn’t understand why he was so upset today. She noticed her dad looking toward where Robby ran off, and before he could go after him, Sam found herself wanting to go find Robby herself. </p>
<p>Miguel noticed how Sam seemed to check out of the conversation. He followed her gaze toward the house where he just caught Robby closing the door in a hurry, and sighed with annoyance. </p>
<p>“Um, Miguel, I’ll be right back,” Sam told him. He gave a curt nod and tight smile. </p>
<p>Sam headed off toward the house. She caught up with her dad who was just about to grab the doorknob to head inside himself, and placed a hand on his arm, pausing his actions. </p>
<p>“I got it, dad,” she reassured. </p>
<p>Walking into the little dojo, Sam glanced around looking for Robby. Finally, she found him sitting against a wall in the back next to where his old bed used to be and staring at a piece of paper in his hands. </p>
<p>Without saying anything, she made her way across the room and cautiously sat next to him on the floor. </p>
<p>Robby didn’t flinch as she came over. It was like he knew exactly where she was without even looking up. </p>
<p>“What are you looking at?” Sam asked softly, trying to not eavesdrop on the words written on the piece of paper he was holding. </p>
<p>At her words, Robby dropped his hands holding the paper and leaned his head back against the wall. “It’s nothing,” he said, jaw tense. </p>
<p>Sam decided to not press for answers. She reached out and grabbed one of his dropped hands in hers, soothingly running her thumb across his knuckles. Some of the tension in his neck and shoulders noticeably left his body, and the wrinkle in his forehead softened. </p>
<p>Robby let himself be calmed by her touch, closing his eyes and enjoying the way she made him feel like everything was going to be okay just by having her by his side. Then without warning, her interaction with Miguel from a few minutes ago flashed across his mind. Suddenly, he remembered that she wasn’t his anymore — she still had feelings for Miguel. </p>
<p>He cleared his throat and sat up some more, pulling his hand out of her grasp. His jaw was set as he stared intently across the other side of the room, afraid to look over at Sam out of fear that he might breakdown, or worse, give into her comfort. </p>
<p>Sam was confused by his sudden switch in demeanor, but continued to press on anyway. “What’s the matter? I could tell something was up from the moment you came in today.”</p>
<p>Robby didn’t take his eyes off of the wall in front of him. He played with his hands in his lap, his right foot bouncing slightly from nervous energy. “It’s been a rough few days,” he answered quietly. </p>
<p>She paused before asking again. “What happened?”</p>
<p>A few seconds passed between the two of them as Sam waited for an answer. She didn’t know if Robby wanted to talk about things yet, but she could speak from experience that keeping everything inside never helped anyone. </p>
<p>“My dad…” he sighed, “I thought he made the decision to have me come live with him and take care of me because he was finally choosing me. Did you know he actually told Miguel that he wasn’t able to be in his life anymore because he had me now? At first I was kind of upset because it felt like I wouldn’t ever be good enough, but then I realized that that’s what I’ve been waiting for. He finally chose me. He showed up for me and made me his priority. Then yesterday he says out of the blue that he actually can’t do that to Miguel, and that he’s going to be his Sensei again. Even though he told me that this time things would be different,” Robby growled. “I don’t know why he changed his mind. I guess I wasn’t enough,” he spoke quietly. </p>
<p>Sam’s heart sunk in her chest. She knew that when she told her dad to get Johnny back in Miguel’s life that it might change the dynamic between Robby and Johnny. But she didn’t understand the pain it would inflict on him as a consequence. </p>
<p>“That’s not the reason he changed his mind, Robby,” she swallowed. </p>
<p>He looked at her with upset still ingrained in his eyes, “Then why would he do something like that? He made a big deal out of showing up for me and being there for me, and then he just goes back on everything he said. Why would he do that?” He questioned frustratedly. </p>
<p>“Because I told him to,” Sam said calmly. She stared directly into Robby’s eyes, watching as they shifted between her own with a dumbfounded look. </p>
<p>“You did what?” He blinked.</p>
<p>Sam gulped, “I asked my dad to talk to Johnny and tell him that he needs to be there for Miguel again,” she breathed. </p>
<p>Robby’s cheeks burned with anger. He didn’t realize he could feel so betrayed by someone who he trusted and cared about this much. He didn’t even feel this upset with her when he found out she kissed Miguel. </p>
<p>“Why would you do that to me?” He cried. “Were you trying to hurt me? Was this your way of getting closer to Miguel?”</p>
<p>“That’s not at all why I did it — I would never try to hurt you, Robby,” Sam defended, feeling a knife in her chest twist deeper. </p>
<p>“Then why Sam?” He screamed. “You know how much it hurt me to see my dad with Miguel and not with me. Why would you push them back together?”</p>
<p>“Because Miguel needs Johnny just as much as you do,” she yelled sternly. Robby was taken aback by her tone and fell silent. “I didn’t do this at your expense, Robby,” she said more softly. “I know that Johnny finally being there is a big deal to you, but he needs to learn how to do both. The way you feel about Johnny not showing up for you when he’s supposed to be your dad, that’s how Miguel felt when Johnny told him he couldn’t be his Sensei anymore.”</p>
<p>Robby stared at the wooden planks on the ground near his shoes. He noticed all of the grooves and spots detailing each plank. He didn’t say anything to Sam because he didn’t know what he could say. That she was right? Johnny was his dad before he was Miguel’s Sensei. He had a biological obligation to be a dad to Robby — not to be Miguel’s Sensei. </p>
<p>And yet, Robby never got to experience what it was like having his father actually be a dad to him. Somehow it seemed easier for Johnny to learn how to be a father figure to someone who wasn’t even his son. And that hurt. </p>
<p>Sam watched him retract from their conversation and go stiff. “I know it sucks, but—“</p>
<p>“No you don’t,” he stopped her. “Your family is great. You don’t know what it’s like to grow up broken because your dad abandoned you and your mom is basically checked out all the time,” he said, watching as her face fell. Robby hated to see his words have that effect on her, but it was the truth. She wouldn’t understand what it’s like to be in his shoes. </p>
<p>Sam looked down, “You’re right. I don’t understand what that’s like. But I know how it feels to doubt yourself, to feel like you’re the reason the people around you treat you badly. I’ve blamed myself for a lot of things that went wrong lately,” she explained. </p>
<p>Robby met her watery eyes and his heart clenched. He hated seeing her so unsure of herself. </p>
<p>“It’s not your fault. It never was. It’s Johnny who needs to learn, and now, you have to be open to him trying again — if that’s what you want,” Sam added, playing with her fingers in the grooves of the wooden boards. </p>
<p>He let out a long sigh and threw his head back into the wall behind him. Shaking his head wordlessly, he looked back down at the letter he had been clutching in his hand. He unfolded it and silently read over the words again in his mind. “I found this,” he cleared his throat. “He wrote this to me a year ago, but I never got it. This is the first time he’s ever said ‘I love you’ to me and he never even sent it,” Robby’s voice cracked from emotion. </p>
<p>Sam’s eyebrows furrowed. She couldn’t understand why Johnny had such a difficult relationship with his son. It wasn’t something she would probably ever learn. But if one would be there for Robby, then she would. </p>
<p>She scooted closer to where Robby sat and rested her head on his shoulder, with her hand lightly placed on his bicep. Robby leaned into her support and closed his eyes. The letter dropped from his hands and he laid one of his hands on hers instead. They stayed silent like that for a few moments, just listening to each other breathe. Robby never wanted her leave. </p>
<p>The sliding door to the dojo opened and it caught the attention of both students.</p>
<p>“Come on guys, we’re almost done with warm ups — you need to be out here,” Daniel tasked.</p>
<p>The two students gave each other a sheepish look, realizing that they were probably talking for a lot longer than they should have. Robby hopped up and offered his hand to Sam who accepted, standing up with his help. </p>
<p>They walked out of the dojo, not missing the sideways glances they received from Miyagi-Do students. Sam took a look over at where Miguel was working on his own training to get his leg strength back. She found him staring in her direction, studying something intently with a nervousness in his eye. </p>
<p>Following his gaze, Sam realized Miguel wasn’t staring at her but at Robby. The two boys were glaring at each other from across the backyard. <br/>Sam rolled her eyes at their antics. She refused to be a part of their rivalry. </p>
<p>Leaving Robby behind to glare at Miguel, she made her way over to the group of Miyagi-Do students pairing up to work on their blocking together. </p>
<p>She tapped Demetri’s shoulder, “Hey, do you want to be my partner?” Demetri whipped around and cocked his head to the side. </p>
<p>“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be partnered up with Jason Todd over there?” He asked, raising an eyebrow and nodding his head over to Robby. </p>
<p>Sam glanced back over to where Robby stood shuffling his feet and looking toward her like a lost puppy. She frowned, but shook her head at Demetri’s suggestion anyway. “No, I think it would do him some good to be paired up with someone else,” she said, looking over at Miguel. </p>
<p>Demetri caught onto her plan. “Oh, I see. How diabolical of you,” he scratched his chin. “Well, I’d be lying if I said I think this plan will go well, but I could use a training buddy who is closer to my height than Nate is, so I’m down,” he finished. </p>
<p>Sam chuckled at him. They began getting into position to begin their blocking techniques. </p>
<p>To her own delight, Sam caught sight of her dad and Johnny setting Robby up to work with Miguel on blocking his kicks. She kept a steady eye on the two boys just to be sure that nothing got out of hand. It was evident that neither were thrilled with the arrangement, but at least they were starting to interact. The closer they were to being on good terms, the better she could feel about figuring out her feelings for each of them.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think! Also, I hope that Demetri's Jason Todd reference was accurate enough to those who follow D.C. Comics -- Demetri really forces me to search deep within myself to pull out these pop culture references.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. School Days</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Miguel's first day back at school and it's an eventful day!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's a long one! I don't know how it got so long, but apparently I had a lot of things to cram into Miguel's first day back at school. I hope you all enjoy it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Miguel stood before the front entrance to West Valley High, staring at the arrangement of students around the plaza and groups animatedly talking with each other. </p>
<p>It was his first day back. He was walking a lot better now with his crutches, and there were even times he didn’t need them. His mom had insisted on him using them at school just in case. </p>
<p>He thought he had mentally prepared himself for being back surrounded by these walls again. But looking at the building in front of him, he wasn’t so sure. </p>
<p>“Miguel!” Sam ran up to his side cheering. He turned his head to see her with her signature shining smile and bright blue eyes. “I forgot that today was your first day back. Are you excited?” She asked. </p>
<p>Miguel rocked back on his crutches, nervously. “I don’t know if I should say excited,” he wrinkled his nose. “But it definitely beats sitting at home and trying to figure out assignments, so...I’m glad to be back.”</p>
<p>She gave him a sympathetic smile. “Yeah, I get that. Well I’m here — and all your other friends will be here too if you need any of us,” she stuttered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. </p>
<p><em>There’s that word ‘friend’ again,</em> Miguel thought to himself. He shook away his thoughts and nudged his head to the big doors ahead. “Alright then, shall we?” He offered her an arm through his crutch, and she took it laughing as they walked forward. </p>
<p>They struggled to walk forward arm-in-arm and laughed at the ridiculousness of themselves. Sam dropped his arm to open the doors for him to go through. </p>
<p>Once inside the school, Miguel had to pause for a moment. He glanced up at the staircase and railing above him and flinched unexpectedly. The images of Robby’s fearful face right before he started to feel himself falling backward; the sequence of objects becoming further and further away as he neared the ground; the realization that these could be his final moments. All of the events washed over him in a dizzying rush. He stumbled a bit until he felt two arms support him back to his feet. </p>
<p>“Miguel?” Sam asked, concerned. He realized that she may have called his name a few times and he just didn’t hear her over the ringing in his ears. </p>
<p>He swallowed the lump building in his throat, “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. I’m okay, thanks.”</p>
<p>Sam didn’t look convinced. “My first day back was tough too. My first week back was tough actually,” she sighed. “But it gets easier. And like I said, I’m here. If you need anything,” she looked at him sincerely in his eyes. </p>
<p>Miguel nodded, meeting her eyes with a similar gaze. “Thanks, Sam. I’m really glad I have you.”</p>
<p>“I’m glad I have you too, Frodo,” she joked. </p>
<p>“Okay, you’re really pushing this Lord of the Rings stuff,” Miguel teased, resuming the walk to their lockers. </p>
<p>“What? You think only you and Demetri can talk about nerd stuff?” She quipped. </p>
<p>“Alright, fair enough. In that case I have to ask you this, and this is probably the most important question I’ll ever ask you, are you ready?” </p>
<p>She laughed, “I’m ready.”</p>
<p>“Favorite Star Wars movie — go!”</p>
<p>“Oh that isn’t even a question. Hands down <em>the best</em> Star Wars movie to be made, <em>ever</em>, is Empire Strikes Back,” she breezed. </p>
<p>“What? Noooo,” Miguel whined, throwing his head back with disapproval. “That is so boring, everyone claims Empire Strikes Back to be the best.” They reached Miguel’s locker and he halted to do his combination. </p>
<p>Sam stomped her foot, glaring at him. “It is not boring. My dad agrees with me,” she crossed her arms. Miguel chuckled and gave her an amused look. “Okay, what is your favorite Star Wars then?” She challenged, trying not to smile. </p>
<p>Miguel opened his locker and collected his books. “Revenge of the Sith,” he said. </p>
<p>“A prequel?” Sam gawked. </p>
<p>“I know, I know, but Revenge of the Sith has the best soundtrack. And the Mustafar scene is iconic,” he threw back. </p>
<p>Sam shook her head, chuckling at their conversation. Her eye caught the words of a poster plastered to a wall at the end of the hallway stating: “Prom Tickets”</p>
<p>Junior prom was coming up. She almost completely forgot about prom, or any kind of social event, now that her life has become so complicated. Last year, she remembered walking through the hallways around this time and seeing all the promposals happen during lunch or class. She imagined herself being at the center of one of those someday in the future, or at least getting to experience going dress shopping with her mom. Now, she couldn’t even fathom the idea of prom. It seemed like a distant reality now that her life has become so stressful with training for the karate war and being torn in two by Miguel and Robby. Prom almost seemed like more stress to add to her plate. </p>
<p>Miguel looked at Sam to see her reaction to his explanation and found her zoned out, staring at something over his shoulder. He turned his head to see what she was looking at and immediately recognized the prom poster hanging up on the wall. </p>
<p>Something inside him shifted and he suddenly felt hyper aware of the sweatiness of his palms. He wiped his hands on his pants quickly, clearing his throat, “I totally forgot prom was a thing,” he said nervously. </p>
<p>Wide blue eyes snapped up to meet his anxious brown ones. Sam felt a little embarrassed to be caught gazing at the prom poster. She tried to play it off casually. “Um, yeah. Me too. I don’t even think I really want to go anymore,” she half joked. </p>
<p>Miguel bit the inside of his cheek. “Well I do,” he said. Sam raised an eyebrow at him. “But you know, only if I have someone really cool to go with. Preferably someone who I can talk about nerd shit with,” he mused. </p>
<p>She felt a flutter in her chest. “You think Demetri will go with you? Because I can ask him for you, if you want,” she teased. </p>
<p>Miguel grinned. “No, I was thinking of someone a lot prettier than Demetri — even if their favorite Star Wars movie happens to be Empire Strikes Back,” he flirted. </p>
<p>Heat rose to Sam’s cheeks and she looked down at her shoes bashfully. She didn’t know how to respond. It was like all of the words in the English language suddenly left her head and all she could do was bite her lip and giggle. Talking to Miguel like this made her nervous, but maybe that was how it was supposed to feel? </p>
<p>A part of her mind couldn’t escape the questions she still wanted answered. <em>Why did you date Tory?</em> Her mind wandered. </p>
<p>It had been on her mind ever since she saw them together at the roller rink. Miguel was a nice boy, funny, respectful, and Tory was...the opposite. She wasn’t good enough for him, Sam was sure of it. The fact that he could go from dating herself to Tory just posed so many questions to her about who he actually was in a relationship, and whether they would be good together. </p>
<p>She looked back up at him ready to get answers to her questions. “Miguel, I wanted to ask you —“</p>
<p>“What’s up teammates?” Demetri swung his lanky arms around both Sam and Miguel, giving them a firm pat on their shoulders. Sam and Miguel both forced smiles onto their face to hide their annoyance at their friend’s untimely entrance. “It’s good to have you back roaming the halls again, man. One more number against the Cobras,” he said, shaking Miguel’s shoulder a bit and peering around the hallway to look out for Cobra Kai. </p>
<p>“Have they been bothering you guys here too?” Miguel asked, particularly looking at Sam. </p>
<p>Demetri and Sam shared a glance. “Yeah, it seems the ‘no tolerance’ rule only counts if you actually get caught,” Demetri explained. “Minor shoves or pushes or, you know, kicking a soccer ball into the Lego model that your previous best friend spent <em>all night</em> to build and just demolishing it without even caring are totally allowed so long as no one notices,” Demetri seethed. He paused to take in a calming breath. “But yeah. It’s still kind of been a war zone around here.”</p>
<p>“I can’t believe they are still trying to start fights. After what happened,” Miguel said, shaking his head. “Have you guys tried to fight back yet?”</p>
<p>“That’s what they want. Cobra Kai strikes first hoping to antagonize us so they can spin the narrative and make Miyagi-Do look bad again. We can’t handle losing any more members, we need all the help we can get to try to pull over Cobra Kai students,” Sam said. </p>
<p>“Daenerys is right,” Demetri added. “As much as I would love to punch Eli in the face most of the time these days, it’s probably more productive to lure the little brat back with friendship over vengeance,” Demetri shrugged. </p>
<p>Miguel squinted his eyes. He was still trying to work his head around the “karate is just for self-defense” rule that Mr. LaRusso has been drilling into their heads. He agreed that being an asshole wasn’t correct, but neither was letting people treat you like shit. If he waited for Kylar and the rest of his jerk friends to hit him again before he stood up to them last year, they never would have backed off. Maybe Cobra Kai needed to learn a lesson. </p>
<p>Out of nowhere, one of the crutches Miguel had been leaning on was yanked out from under him. His legs didn’t have a chance to hold him up, and he collapsed to the ground, dropping the books in his grasp on the way down. </p>
<p>“You asshole!” Sam shouted. Miguel lifted his head up from the ground to see the ugly smirk donning the face of none other than the devil himself. “What the hell were you thinking?” Sam raged, nearing Kylar’s space. She looked like she was about to tear him to pieces — a complete contrast to her words of wisdom from just a minute ago. </p>
<p>“Oh I’m sorry, I tripped,” Kylar lied. He looked to his friends surrounding him and laughed along with them.</p>
<p>“Really? Are you just going to let him treat us like this? Treat <em>Miguel</em> like this?” Demetri yelled, glaring at Hawk, who was standing sheepishly in the background of the quiver. Demetri was kneeling next to Miguel, trying to help the boy up. Miguel was so in shock of having been knocked down that he was struggling to gather his bearings. </p>
<p>Kylar glanced at Hawk behind him with an arrogant grin across his face. “Nah, we’re all cool here. Right Hawk?” Kylar’s condescending tone ruffled Hawk’s feathers. He clenched his fists tightly at his sides and shook with anxious energy, only noticeable to Demetri. Taking a look at Miguel on the ground brought a shiver down his spine. His lip worried as he looked down at his friend with an Eli-like gaze. </p>
<p>Miguel desperately pleaded with Hawk from his state on the floor. The disappointed lines in Miguel’s face were pulling at Hawk’s conscious, and he had to close his eyes in order to regain some of his tough exterior. </p>
<p>Rolling his shoulders back, he lifted his chin up slightly. Hawk turned his attention back to Kylar and his Cobras, “Whatever man, let’s ditch these nerds. We have better shit to deal with.” Just like that, Hawk took off leading the pack of Cobras down the hall. Demetri could’ve sworn he saw Hawk take a lingering glance back at him and Miguel on the floor, but it may have just been wishful thinking. </p>
<p>“See. Told ya. Don’t you really want to just punch him right now?” Demetri announced after the group left. </p>
<p>Sam was still fuming, staring them down as they trekked down the hall. Her eyes were like lasers, aiming to chop the heads off of each and every one of the snakes. </p>
<p>“I can’t believe Hawk is teaming up with Kylar,” Miguel finally said. Sam looked back down to the boy on the floor. She immediately jumped to his side and tried to help gather some of his things. </p>
<p>“I’m so sorry, Miguel. Are you okay?” She worried. </p>
<p>Miguel shook his head. “No. I thought I had talked some sense into Hawk. I got him to see how Kreese is just using him, but it looks like he’s far too concerned with his own status than he is with anything else.”</p>
<p>Demetri sighed, “That’s ‘Hawk’ for ya. Eli would have hated more than anything to be in the same circle as Kylar. Now look at ‘em. They’re all buddy-buddy and acting like they’ve been friends forever.”</p>
<p>“We should get you up,” Sam changed the topic. She supported Miguel’s back and helped him to stand with Demetri on the other side. Once he had his crutches under him again, he was able to support himself. “Are you sure you’re okay? Nothing hurts, right?” Sam worried. </p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah I’m okay. Thank you guys,” Miguel sadly smiled. </p>
<p>“Maybe Demetri and I can take turns walking you to class? I don’t want anything like that to happen when you’re by yourself,” Sam suggested. </p>
<p>Demetri nodded to show his support, “We actually have class together now, so I can walk with you first.” Sam waved goodbye to her friends as they took off down the opposite end of the hallway. Making her way to her own locker, she passed by the band of Cobras congregating in the middle of the hallway. Despite the restraint she had preached earlier, she couldn’t help herself from subtly kicking the backs of Kylar’s knees as she passed by. </p>
<p>From behind her, she could hear his cursing as he fell to the ground. Sam smirked victoriously. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>~~~~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When lunch time finally came around, it was a relief for Miguel, whose brain was fried from having to sit through hours of classes. He had gotten used to being able to take more breaks throughout the day and not have to listen to teachers drag on about things he didn’t care about. It would definitely take some adjustment to reprogram himself to focus for long periods of time again. </p>
<p>Demetri walked him to lunch, which he appreciated. It had been a while since him and Demetri hung out without it having to do with karate or other events. He missed the genuine care Demetri had for his friends and the way that he could talk passionately about any topic under the sun. </p>
<p>“So do you think confetti cannons are a bit too much for a junior promposal?” Demetri asked curiously. “Because I could rent them for two hours from a guy on Craigslist for a steal, but I’m a bit worried about the mess factor of it all.”</p>
<p>Miguel perked up at the word “prom” coming from Demetri’s mouth. “Promposal? Who do you plan on asking to prom?” </p>
<p>“Yasmine,” he sighed dreamily, clutching his tray into his body like an embrace. </p>
<p>“Yasmine?” Miguel gawked. “Like, the one Aisha gave a front wedgie to?” Miguel tried to keep his voice down as the two of them moved through the lunch line, fearing she could overhear them. </p>
<p>“That’s the one. She’s actually a lot cooler than I thought she was. I mean, I always knew she was popular, but we were paired up as lab partners this year, and once she actually started talking to me, I realized there’s more to her than just being super hot.”</p>
<p>Miguel squinted, “Don’t take this the wrong way Demetri, but what makes you think she’d say yes if you asked her to prom? Maybe making this into a big spectacle isn’t really the way to go,” he said gently. </p>
<p>“Look, I hear ya. If things were the way they were a year ago, hell even 4 months ago, I never would have even dared to consider this out of fear of the inevitable trauma from public embarrassment. But get this: Ever since Yas got that front wedgie her popularity has been on a steady decline, whereas mine has been increasing exponentially since I kicked Hawk into that trophy case. The way I see it, in a few months our statuses will meet at a critical point, and that’s when I’ll make the move. For now, I’ll continue to charm her by getting us A’s in Earth Science and using my dazzling wit. In about 3 weeks, I think we’ll be ready to take things to the next level, and I’ll ask her out by giving her an offer she can’t refuse: a day's worth of shopping, my treat. Then, after an amazing date, I should have enough confidence to ask her to prom,” Demetri rambled. </p>
<p>“Wow,” Miguel shook his head out of the daze Demetri lulled him into with his information dump. “It sounds like you’ve really thought this through,” he mused. </p>
<p>“You have to. It’s not everyday a nerd like me gets the chance to potentially woo the hottest girl in school. Well, maybe unless your <em>Hawk</em>. But I refuse to go to the route of shaving half my hair and turning into a mega jerk,” Demetri sat down at an empty lunch table and Miguel followed his lead. </p>
<p>The mention of Hawk lowered Miguel’s mood. The events from this morning took away whatever hope he had about turning Cobra Kai members away from Kreese. They all followed Hawk like a leader. If he was in, so were they. It looked like none of them would be leaving anytime soon. </p>
<p>“Hey Miguel,” a quiet voice spoke behind his shoulder. He turned his head at the noise and his eyes widened at the sight of Bert and Mitch awkwardly standing together, looking over their shoulders every now and then. </p>
<p>“Bert, Mitch, hey guys,” he dazed. </p>
<p>Bert smiled shyly at him, “We just wanted to say we’re glad you’re back. It’s been...different without you.” Miguel smiled at them. He noticed Bert elbow Mitch in the gut, making him flinch in pain before continuing. </p>
<p>“Yeah, we’re sorry for how everything got out of hand, and we just hope that we can still be friends again,” Mitch mumbled, looking down at his shoes with embarrassment. </p>
<p>Miguel shared a surprised glance with Demetri, who sipped on his Capri Sun casually to stay quiet. “Yeah guys, of course. I would really like that,” he cleared his throat, “I would offer you to sit down, but I assume you have other places to be,” Miguel suggested, nodding toward the table of snakes behind them. </p>
<p>Mitch and Bert shared a quick glance. “No we’re not really — in Cobra Kai anymore…” Mitch trailed off. </p>
<p>“Really? Why, what happened?” </p>
<p>“Kreese kicked us out,” Bert blurted, earning his own jab in the ribs from Mitch. “He made us fight his new recruits to earn our place on the team, and we didn’t pass his test.”</p>
<p>“Now none of them will even talk to us — not even Hawk because we aren’t ‘Cobra Kai material,’” Mitch explained bitterly. Miguel snuck a glance over at the Cobras who looked to be competing for the title of “biggest asshole.” At the end of the table, checked out of the conversation appeared to be the bird himself. Hawk’s eyes watched the interaction between Miguel and Eli’s old friends steadily. He barely noticed Miguel’s gaze due to the sheer focus he had on the other members. </p>
<p>Miguel sat up a bit straighter. “Well, if you want to hang out with us, the door is always open,” he smiled. </p>
<p>Mitch and Bert shared a look, then as if on cue, they scrambled to take their seats at Miguel and Demetri’s table. Before he turned around to resume eating his lunch, Miguel looked back at Hawk only a few feet away. </p>
<p>Their eyes made contact; Hawk’s blue orbs expanded having been caught. Miguel gave a curt nod in his direction then swung back around, affectionately punching Bert’s shoulder to dig it in. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>~~~~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The final bell rang, signaling Miguel’s freedom after his long, first day back. </p>
<p>He held onto one of his crutches to help him stand up from his desk. Underneath his arms were sore from the amount of time he had spent traveling between classes with his crutches. He was looking forward to being back home where he could just relax and not move for a few hours. </p>
<p>Approaching the door, he caught sight of the back of Sam’s head waiting outside of his class for him. He perked up a bit knowing that she was waiting for him.</p>
<p>“Hey,” he greeted, coming up behind her.</p>
<p>She whipped around with a smile on her face. “Hey,” she paused to bite her lip. “So how was the first day back?” They started walking together down the hallway side-by-side.</p>
<p>Miguel dipped his head to both sides unsure, “Well the start was pretty crappy, but by lunch I had two new recruits for Miyagi-Do,” he boasted.</p>
<p>“Wow really?” Sam tapped his shoulder lightly. “Who?”</p>
<p>“Mitch and Bert,” he said, eyeing her from the side. “They were kicked out of Cobra Kai and now they’re just kind of looking for a place to belong. I think Miyagi-Do might be good for them.”</p>
<p>“I agree...I mean it will take some getting used to to have more Cobra Kai students at our practice, and I bet Nate and Chris may need even more time to adjust, but this is what we’ve been waiting for, and I think anyone is redeemable,” she nodded. </p>
<p>Miguel smiled back at her, happy to see her accepting his Cobra Kai friends. They arrived at Sam’s locker and she took the moment to gather her things. </p>
<p>He cleared his throat, “Um, so...earlier today it — it seemed like you were going to ask me something?” He trailed off scratching the back of his neck.</p>
<p>Sam froze her movements, standing up rigidly. “Oh, yeah,” she swallowed. She let out a slow breath before turning to face him. “I know we already talked about a lot of the things between us that were bothering us, but there’s something that’s been on my mind for a while now, and before we’re able to really move forward, I think I need to get it off my chest,” she said.</p>
<p>“Okay, what’s the matter?” His eyebrows wrinkled.</p>
<p>Sam looked down at the ground, “You were my first real boyfriend — even if our first date was ‘not a date’ you were the first person I really liked hanging out with. When we broke up, it really sucked because not only did I see a different side of you that I didn’t like, but I lost a friend who meant a lot to me. I thought that maybe after we’ve both had some space that we’d be able to talk things through and be friends again. Then, I saw you with Tory. It just hurt that you would like someone like her, who has had it out for me from the moment I met her. I just couldn’t understand how someone as kind and funny and good as you could like someone like Tory. It made me question whether I really knew you,” Sam whispered, finally meeting Miguel’s eyes.</p>
<p>The wrinkle in his eyebrows seemed to deepen with his frown. He looked down at her with confusion, “I — I don’t know if I understand. I’ve always been myself with you — I — what are you asking?” Miguel stammered.</p>
<p>She sighed, “I guess, do you regret being with Tory? I’m assuming you guys aren’t together anymore, but I don’t know, do you still have feelings there?” </p>
<p>Miguel hadn’t thought about Tory that much lately. It was easier for him not to. He was worried about her if he was being honest with himself. He knew how much she was struggling before the incident, and he could only assume that her life was much more difficult after being expelled. The last thing he learned, she was put on probation, which was probably fair after what she did. But now that he was being put on the spot to talk about his feelings, he didn’t know if he had a clear answer. </p>
<p>“Ah, I — I don’t know what to tell you, Sam. We’re not together, as far as I know. I mean, I haven’t spoken to her since Moon’s party after you beat her at that drinking game so...why does this matter to you?” He asked, trying hard to not sound accusatory. </p>
<p>She crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed at her arm. “Because I care about you, Miguel. Like I said, I can’t imagine you being with someone like her, she’s not good enough for you,” Sam responded.</p>
<p>Miguel frowned, “Well you don’t really get to make those decisions for me, Sam. Besides, you don’t even know Tory. I’m not going to make excuses for how she’s hurt you, but she told me about how you accused her of stealing your mom’s wallet before all of this. It sounds like you had it out for her from the beginning as well.”</p>
<p>Sam was taken aback by his suggestion. “She’s the one who started the fight and tried to hurt me, which led to you getting hurt more than anyone. She’s the one who came after me outside of your house with the intention to do god knows what to me. What do you mean I don’t even know her? I think I have a pretty good idea,” she argued back.</p>
<p>Miguel looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. “I don’t mean it like that. I’m sorry, I’m not trying to blame you for all of this, I’m just saying that you can’t judge her before you get to know her like I did. She isn’t just the bad things she did. Plus, didn’t you just say that anyone is redeemable,” he raised an eyebrow at her.</p>
<p>Her mouth falling open with no words, Sam stuttered for a second before falling silent. As much as she wanted Tory to just disappear completely, she had to accept the fact that there may be more layers to her than meets the eye. <em>I’ll believe it when I see it</em>, she thought. </p>
<p>“I don’t know if I answered your questions…” Miguel filled in the silence between them.</p>
<p>Sam shook her head and gave him a small smile, arms still crossed, “That’s okay, I think I got my answers.”</p>
<p>“Are we still okay?” He inquired. Sam looked up at the worried look in his eyes as he peered down at her and her heart melted at his concern. </p>
<p>“Yeah,” her smile grew. “We’ll always be okay.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm hoping to manifest a prom episode in season 4 &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Listen to Your Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Robby gets sick and Johnny takes care of him until he needs to step out, and then he gets Robby a "babysitter"</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Another long long chapter because I just had so much I wanted to add in here! This chapter is based on a suggestion from one of my readers at the start of this story, and I loved it so much that I had to find a way to incorporate it. Little did I know, it would work really well for the overall plot. </p>
<p>Lots of developments in this chapter! I hope you all enjoy...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Robby woke up with his head feeling like it was the heaviest part of his body. He rolled over in bed and had to tightly close his eyes as the dizziness washed over him. </p>
<p>He swallowed to quench his dry mouth and cringed at the painful way his throat clenched from the movement. </p>
<p>The past few days he started to feel a little run down. Then a sneeze or stuffy nose began to creep up on him. Waking up this morning, the grossness of his cold finally hit him with full force. </p>
<p>Robby hated being sick. It kept him from enjoying the things he wanted to do — even eating or drinking water were made unenjoyable while sick. </p>
<p>When he was a kid, his mom used to let him stay home from school for every little cold he had. It would be one of the few times when they got to spend an entire day together. She couldn’t afford to take off work, so she’d bring Robby, dressed in his favorite dinosaur pajamas and warm fuzzy boots, to work with her. He was given animal crackers and ginger ale to snack on throughout the day as he nodded on and off with naps on the floor by her feet. Then they would go home and watch movies together until he was asleep for good. </p>
<p>Sometimes Robby pretended to be sick just because he didn’t want to be alone that day. </p>
<p>It had been a while since he’d gotten sick. And even though he is much older now, it felt strange to not have his mom around to take care of him. </p>
<p>Groaning as his head spun when he sat up, Robby began to slowly make his way out his room in search of a box of tissues. His bare feet padded on the hard floors across the tiny apartment and into the bathroom. He searched under the cabinet for a box of tissues and was disappointed to find none. Rolling his eyes at his dad for not buying tissues, he decided to steal a roll of toilet paper instead. </p>
<p>Robby walked back into the kitchen and living area and blew his nose loudly. </p>
<p>“Jesus, you look like hell,” Johnny informed him from his place on the couch. </p>
<p>Robby glared at his dad from behind his balled up piece of makeshift toilet paper. “I’m si—“ Robby tried to speak, but was cut off by an intense cough that overtook his body. “Sick,” he finished nasly. </p>
<p>“Obviously,” Johnny said. He shifted on the couch to get a better look at his son’s sickly state. “Do you need like...soup or something?” He scratched the back of his neck. </p>
<p>The glare on Robby’s face didn’t change. He rolled his eyes at his dad and marched off toward his room. “Don’t bother. I’m fine taking care of myself,” he closed his door behind him. </p>
<p>Johnny threw his head back on the couch. He took a minute, thinking over his options. <em>Should I even bother to try?</em> He asked himself. He’s never taken care of Robby when he was sick before — he’s never really taken care of him before in general. Not to mention, his kid was still pissed at him for everything with Miguel. But maybe that’s just more reason why he should attempt to take care of him. He needed to show Robby that he was going to try, no matter what. </p>
<p>Giving it a moment to think over, Johnny reached for his phone and called the only person who could give him advice on this subject. </p>
<p>“Johnny? To what do I owe the pleasure?” Shannon’s voice rang through his phone clearly. </p>
<p>“Hey Shannon,” he grumbled. “So, Robby has come down with a cold, and I don’t really know what to do. He doesn’t want anything to do with me — what else is new— but I don’t know, there’s got to be something I can get for him to make him feel better. Like, what about those Flinstone vitamins? I loved those as a kid,” Johnny said. </p>
<p>“No, he’s 16, don’t get him children vitamins,” Johnny could practically hear the shake of her head through the phone. “Robby hates being alone when he’s sick. I used to take him to work with me every time. So even if he says not to bother him, try to keep him company,” she suggested. “I also used to give him animal crackers and ginger ale and it kind of became his go to food when he wasn’t feeling well. You should also just make sure you have the basic things like tissues, a thermometer and some Advil just in case he gets a fever or something,” she added. </p>
<p>Johnny nodded along as he took in all the information. In hindsight, he should’ve already had all these supplies ready in the event that Robby would get sick, but thinking proactively was never really his strong suit. “Alright, got it. Anything else?”</p>
<p>“Um, that’s pretty much it. Oh, sometimes we’d watch movies together. I don’t know what you have available, but if it’s anything like it was 20 years ago, then it probably would be best to just set him up with Netflix,” she suggested. </p>
<p>“If I rent a Netflix movie now it won’t come in the mail until like next week,” Johnny confidently opposed. </p>
<p>“No I — you know what, never mind. I guess Iron Eagle will have to do,” she shook her head. </p>
<p>“And Iron Eagle 2,” he clarified. “Thanks Shannon. You know, I knew being a good parent would be hard — it’s why I gave up so early — but being just a decent parent is way harder than I ever imagined. I didn’t give you enough credit. You’ve done a lot for him, and I’m glad you’re getting to take care of yourself now,” Johnny admitted. </p>
<p>Shannon was quiet on the other end of the phone for a minute, and he thought he may have said something wrong. Then he heard a faint sniffle. “Thanks Johnny,” she finally said, her voice a little broken with tears. “And um...for what it’s worth, I think it’s really great that you’re finally trying to make this work with him. I know that he doesn’t make it easy, but just know that he does want you there. Even if he says different, Robby has always wanted his dad. And he’s getting older so quickly! Don’t wait any longer to have those hard conversations with him,” she instructed with a shaky voice. </p>
<p>Johnny nodded his head even though she couldn’t see. “Alright. Thanks again Shannon. Take care,” he gulped, hanging up the phone. </p>
<p>He sighed out a long breath, running his hand over his face. He knew Shannon was right. He needed to strike first. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>~~~~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Johnny came back from the convenience store clutching bags filled to the brim with all the necessities Shannon advised him to get, plus a few extras he figured would help — Flinstone vitamins being one. </p>
<p>He bypassed the kitchen and went straight into Robby’s room, kicking the door open with his foot. </p>
<p>Robby lifted his head from its face-down position on the pillow to find the source of the noise. He rolled his eyes and let his heavy head fall back down in a huff when he saw his dad standing there in his room. “What do you want,” he coughed. </p>
<p>“I went to the store, and I got some stuff I think you might want,” Johnny placed the bags down on the floor of his room. He dug through them, pulling out the box of tissues, Animal Crackers, and Advil, and throwing them to where Robby rested on the bed. </p>
<p>After he was hit by the flying box of tissues, Robby sat up and caught the following items before he got hit in the head. He looked down at the box of Animal Crackers in his hands. His face softened for just a second, feeling for a moment like a kid again. Only this time his dad was here to take care of him. </p>
<p>“And finally,” Johnny grunted as he pulled out the case of ginger ale. He set it at the foot of Robby’s bed. </p>
<p>Looking at the items surrounding him, Robby couldn’t help the feelings of nostalgia and the warmness it brought to his chest. He tried to uphold his stoic expression, but his eyes shimmered with the feeling of hope and naiviette. “Thanks,” he nodded to his dad. </p>
<p>Johnny sucked his lips in, thinking for a moment. He watched as Robby cracked open a can of ginger ale and took a generous gulp, closing his eyes at the soothing feeling of it going down his throat. Taking a few hesitant steps forward, Johnny pulled a stool up next to Robby’s bed. </p>
<p>Robby eyed him suspiciously, and naturally cowered back a bit on his bed. </p>
<p>“So uh,” Johnny started over the sound of his heart beating rapidly in his chest. “I’m not really good at these things — you know, talking about feelings and stuff. When I grew up that shit was for girls,” he crudely added. Swallowing to wet his dry throat, he continued, “But I already wasted 16 years of my life being afraid to fail at something, so I’m not going to waste another moment to get it right.”</p>
<p>Without looking up at his dad, Robby fixated on the can in his hands. He ran his finger nails over the tin structure and waited for his dad to continue. </p>
<p>Taking the fact that Robby hadn’t pushed him away yet as a sign to continue, Johnny spoke again, “I know that you’re still mad at me for telling you I’m done being a Sensei and then going back to Miguel, but I know there’s more to it. What else is bothering you, Robby? If you want to yell at me or punch me, whatever it is, I can take it. Just let it all out.”</p>
<p>Robby didn’t move for a moment, his jaw set firmly as he stared down at his can. Then without warning, Robby jumped off the bed, walking across the room to pull out a wrinkled piece of paper from one of the dresser drawers. He brought it back to his place on the bed and handed it to his dad without explanation. </p>
<p>Johnny took the paper, confused by the boy’s actions. When he looked down and read the first line, he knew exactly what he was staring at. Johnny’s hand came up to wrap around his chin and mouth. He finished reading the letter and then set it down, scratching the side of his neck. </p>
<p>“You found this?” He sighed. </p>
<p>Robby finally looked up at him, and Johnny noticed that there was a glistening of tears in his eyes. The tears hurt more than a punch ever would. </p>
<p>“Why didn’t you ever send it to me?” Robby asked sharply. </p>
<p>Johnny sighed, “You were training with LaRusso, you were looking up to him like...like the way you should be looking up to me. I didn’t think it mattered what I said to you anymore. My chance at fixing things was gone.”</p>
<p>Silence passed between the two. Robby knew that training with Mr. LaRusso would bother him — that’s why he did it, but he didn’t realize it would cause him to give up. In fact, he was hoping to do just the opposite. He wanted to get back at him for training with Miguel. He thought that maybe if he understood the pain Robby felt seeing them together, he would stop. </p>
<p><em>Maybe Miguel is my dad’s Mr. LaRusso,</em> Robby considered. They both seemed to find a substitute for the person they longed for, but it still wasn’t the same. <em>Maybe we do need both,</em> he realized. </p>
<p>“Did you mean what you wrote?” Robby asked, breaking the silence. </p>
<p>“I did — I still do. Like I said, Robby, I’m not going to run away again, I want this chance —“</p>
<p>“No, not just that. Did you mean…” he sighed. “The way you ended the letter. Did you mean...those words,” he hesitated, afraid to speak those three words aloud. </p>
<p>Johnny looked back down at the letter. He read his closing statement and then the three words, ‘I love you,’ that followed. </p>
<p>He closed his eyes. <em>Of course I love you</em>, Johnny thought. But he couldn’t get the words to leave his mouth. </p>
<p>Since his mom died, he hadn’t spoken those words aloud to anyone. He knew he loved his kid. He’s loved him before he was even born — why else would he be so terrified about screwing up his life? </p>
<p>The fact that Robby was staring at him right now, questioning whether Johnny actually loved him was just proof that he screwed it up regardless. </p>
<p>Johnny suddenly got up and went to the corner closet in the hallway. Robby’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched Johnny come back in carrying an old Reebok shoebox. He set it down on the bed and began to open it up. </p>
<p>Robby peered inside and squinted when he recognized his own terrible artwork he did as a child. Drawings of superheroes with “Dad” written across the bottom in crayon and poorly made paper cards with his name signed in big letters: “Roddy,” because he had trouble deciphering between b’s and d’s were all in there. There were even photos of him and his mom at various soccer games or playing in the park together stuffed in this box.</p>
<p>Robby looked up at his dad with questions in his eyes. “You saved all this stuff?” He asked. </p>
<p>“I’ve always loved you, Robby,” he managed. Once the words came out of his mouth, Johnny felt like he could sit up a bit straighter. His shoulders rolled back and he looked his son in the eyes. “I love you so much that I didn’t want to crush you when you found out your dad was a failure,” he admitted. </p>
<p>Robby swallowed and looked back at the saved drawings. There weren't a lot of examples of love surrounding his childhood. He felt loved by his mom, and he knew he loved her, but he never had a clear image of what love looked like. His mom and dad never were in love — he wasn’t created out of a loving relationship.</p>
<p>He dated a few girls growing up, but obviously nothing serious enough to call love. It wasn’t until he met Sam and was around her family that he started to see what love might look like. But of course he messed that up before he could really figure it out. </p>
<p>Looking down at the box of saved momentos and missing pieces of his childhood, he felt something he never felt before. </p>
<p>Robby turned to look at his father who had a desperate gaze in his eyes. “I love you too, dad,” his voice shook. </p>
<p>Johnny let out a sharp puff of air. He leaned forward and pulled Robby in for a big bear hug. Robby chuckled at the unfamiliar affection and squeezed his dad back. He broke away when the air constriction became too tight and he needed to cough. </p>
<p>“Oh right, sorry I forgot you were still sick. Which reminds me,” Johnny got up and rifled through his bags from the store. He took out a container of Flinstone vitamins. “I thought you might like these,” he said, tossing the container over to Robby on the bed. </p>
<p>Robby caught it and stared down at the bottle. “Gummy vitamins? You know these are for kids ages like 4-12, right?” He quipped. </p>
<p>“Yeah but I bet they still taste good,” Johnny shrugged. “When I was a kid the red ones were my favorite,” he took the bottle back from Robby and unscrewed the cap. Pouring a few out into his hand, Johnny picked out the only red ones in the bunch and popped them into his mouth. He slowly nodded his head in approval. </p>
<p>Robby’s mouth fell open, watching the vial action. “They gotta do a better job child-proofing these things,” Robby quipped sarcastically. He took the bottle out of his dad’s hands and moved it out of his reach. </p>
<p>“Funny,” Johnny deadpanned. “So, come on, are we going to watch a movie or what?” </p>
<p>Robby perked up, “A movie? You want to watch a movie with me?” </p>
<p>“Yeah of course. We’ve watched movies together before,” he said, trying to not make it into a big deal. </p>
<p>A smile painted Robby’s face. For the first time, he felt like he had a dad who loved him and wanted to be around him. That was more than he ever thought he deserved. </p>
<p>“Alright, but not Iron Eagle again — or Iron Eagle 2,” he stressed before Johnny could suggest it. </p>
<p>Johnny weakly protested, but ultimately let Robby choose the movie. </p>
<p>About halfway through the movie, Robby began to nod off. He eventually fell asleep peacefully in his bed. Johnny peered over at him and smiled at the gentle rise and fall of his chest. For all of the crap they’ve gone through together trying to fix their relationship, today felt like a leap forward in the right direction.</p>
<p>Three periodic buzzes from his phone caught Johnny’s attention, and he picked up his phone from the table beside him to see what the notifications were. </p>
<p>There were three messages from Miguel one right after the other:</p>
<p>
  <em>Hey Sensei</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>So our kitchen sink has a leak in it and it is spewing water all over the floor. Do you think you’d be able to come over to fix it? </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My mom says she’ll just call the plumber but that’s going to cost like $500 and we can’t really afford that right now while we’re still trying to pay off my medical bills. </em>
</p>
<p>Johnny sighed reading the texts. A leaky faucet was an easy fix that a plumber would love to overcharge for. He didn’t want Miguel’s family to have to take on more bills for something that he could easily do, but at the same time, now wasn’t really a good time. </p>
<p><em>Do you need me right now? Or could it wait until tomorrow?</em> Johnny texted back. </p>
<p><em>It’s kind of a big leak…</em> Miguel responded right away. </p>
<p>He sighed once again. Johnny remembered what Shannon said about Robby not wanting to be alone when he was sick, and he thought of how happy he looked to have Johnny there for him. The last thing Johnny wanted was for Robby to wake up and think he left him. </p>
<p>Running a hand through his hair, Johnny stood up and dialed a number on his phone. </p>
<p>“LaRusso Auto, this is Daniel LaRusso speaking, how can I help you?” </p>
<p>Johnny rolled his eyes at the rehearsed greeting. “Hey,” he replied. </p>
<p>“Johnny? Why are you calling me at work? Is Robby okay?” He panicked. </p>
<p>“Calm down Danielle, Robby is fine. Well, pretty much fine. He has a cold and I need to leave for an hour or two, and I was wondering if you’d be able to come by to be with him,” he muttered. Coming to Daniel for help, especially help related to his son, was never easy. </p>
<p>Daniel chuckled at him. “He’ll be okay if you leave him for an hour. A cold doesn’t need to be monitored,” Daniel patronized. </p>
<p>“I know that — Robby doesn’t like being alone when he’s sick. Apparently it’s something that bothers him. He’s asleep right now, but I just don’t want to leave him and have him wake up to an empty house. If you could just come over to watch him for an hour, I promise I’ll be back soon.” He really hated that it sounded like begging. </p>
<p>“Well you know I would if I could, Johnny, but I’m at work. We have a big meeting with the marketing team in 10 minutes and I can’t miss it. I’m sorry,” Daniel shrugged on the other end. </p>
<p>Johnny sighed. “Well about your daughter? School should be out by now, right? Could she come by to be with him?” Johnny paced back and forth in his kitchen. </p>
<p>Daniel let out a nervous chuckle, “I — I don’t know about that. I don’t know how I feel about having Sam be at your house to hang out with Robby with no adult supervision,” he protested. </p>
<p>Johnny scoffed. “Didn’t they live together under the same roof for an entire summer? I’m pretty sure if anything was going to happen when no adults were home, it already did,” Johnny pointed out. </p>
<p>Daniel’s face turned white as a ghost. He stared blankly at the wall in front of him with a terrified look on his face. </p>
<p>“Honey? What’s the matter? Who is that on the phone?” Amanda asked from her desk in the office. </p>
<p>Daniel blinked. “Uh — “ he stuttered, concerning Amanda even more. “You know, that doesn’t really make me feel better,” he said. </p>
<p>“Come on, nothing is going to happen. Robby is sick, they’re not going to do anything,” Johnny reasoned. </p>
<p>Daniel shook his head out of the fog, “Alright, fine. I’ll give Sam a call and see if she can stop by,” he gave him, already regretting it. </p>
<p>“Thanks,” Johnny said and hung up. </p>
<p>Johnny walked back into the bedroom where Robby was asleep and gently shook him awake. </p>
<p>Sleepy eyes fluttered open, and he wrinkled his forehead when he saw his dad standing over him. “Why did you wake me up?” He groaned, turning face down on the pillow. </p>
<p>“I need to leave for a little while, but someone is going to come by to stay with you,” Johnny explained. </p>
<p>“You got me a babysitter?” Robby raised an eyebrow. </p>
<p>“No, not a babysitter. Sam is going to come by to keep you company while I’m gone. Your mom said you don’t like being alone when you’re sick,” Johnny walked over to the full length mirror in Robby’s room and began to check his appearance. </p>
<p>Robby felt his stomach jump at the idea of Sam coming over to take care of him. They hadn’t been alone together since he was living at the LaRusso’s. Some time to be together and just talk and laugh again sounded like just what Robby needed to feel better. </p>
<p>He peered over at his dad and watched him fix his hair in the mirror. “Where are you going?” Robby questioned, a smirk forming on his face. </p>
<p>Johnny cleared his throat, “Miguel’s sink is leaking so he asked if I could come by to fix it so they wouldn’t have to call a plumber,” he said cautiously and tried to sound unenthused. </p>
<p>Robby looked down a minute. He supposed that he should feel upset that Johnny was leaving to be with Miguel, but after their day together, it didn’t hurt as bad. He glanced back up to his dad who was finishing the buttons on his shirt, “Do you always try to look that nice when you see Miguel,” Robby teased, laughing a bit at his dad’s dumbfounded look. </p>
<p>It wasn’t hard to notice the sideways glances and nervous body language between Miguel’s mom and Johnny. Robby had seen her a few times on her way out the door to work, and he had come to realize that that same time of day would be when Johnny conveniently had to take out the trash or “run a few errands” so he could pass by her and say hi. </p>
<p>Johnny’s motions stilled at his son’s teasing words. He glared at Robby’s smug reflection through the mirror. Ruffling his flannel and trying to make it look like he wasn’t just fixing his appearance, Johnny threw one of the new tissue boxes at Robby’s head. </p>
<p>“Alright, I’m leaving. Sam will be here soon — don’t make a mess in the bed, those are our only spare sheets,” he lectured seriously on his way out the door. </p>
<p>Robby felt his ears burn bright red at his dad’s insinuation. <em>Touché</em>, he thought. </p>
<p>After his dad left, Robby got off the bed and tried to do some cleaning up around his room before Sam came. He didn’t want her to see his underwear and socks lying haphazardly around the room or the step on the Animal Cracker crumbs that littered the floor. </p>
<p>Straightening out his bed so that it looked like he hadn’t been laying in it all day, he got a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Robby cringed at his disheveled appearance: He hadn’t shaved in a few days and it was evident, his hair was wild, and not to mention he had dark circles under his sick eyes. </p>
<p>While he still had some time, Robby hopped in the shower to hopefully fix his unruly hair. The steam from the shower felt good in his sinuses, helping him perk up a bit. He shaved his face when he got out and gave himself a once over. </p>
<p>The dark circles were still under his eyes and it was pretty obvious that he was sick, but it was definitely a step up from before. </p>
<p>The knock on the door sent a flutter through his chest. He inhaled deeply through his nose to calm his nerves, then made his way through the tiny apartment to get the door. </p>
<p>Robby opened the door to find Sam on the side, and she was adorably holding up a container of soup and ice cream in each of her hands. </p>
<p>“Hey,” she smiled sympathetically. “My dad said you were sick. I wasn’t sure if it was an ‘I need to eat soup’ kind of sick or an ‘I need ice cream’ kind of sick, so I brought both,” she showed him each of the containers. </p>
<p>Robby instantly felt better having just seen her smiling face. He stared dreamily at her for a moment, and then caught himself. “Uh — yeah, they’re both great. It’s really nice of you to do this...I’m sorry my dad called you over here. I could’ve taken care of myself so...” he chuckled nervously. </p>
<p>“You can, but you shouldn’t have to. No one likes having to be alone when they’re sick,” she offered. </p>
<p>“Thank you,” he looked at her lovingly. </p>
<p>Sam tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, blushing from his gaze, “So...do you want to get started on this ice cream?” </p>
<p>He laughed and moved out of the way for her to come inside. </p>
<p>Robby pulled down two bowls from the cupboard and gave one to her. Then he swiped two spoons from the drawer and offered Sam the first scoop. </p>
<p>“I never thought to eat ice cream when I’m sick,” Robby said, watching her scoop both their bowls.</p>
<p>“Really? I always think to eat ice cream,” she joked. </p>
<p>He laughed, which quickly transformed into a cough. He turned away and coughed into his shirt, raising it up to meet his mouth. </p>
<p>Sam noticed the way his shirt pulled up, revealing his toned abdomen. She tried to divert her eyes quickly, pretending she didn’t notice.</p>
<p>“How are you feeling?” She asked and slid him his bowl. </p>
<p>“Well, better now,” his eyes lingered on hers for a moment longer. “But, today I was pretty wiped out. I pretty much slept the whole day and stayed in bed.”</p>
<p>Sam nodded. “That’s good though, I think rest is really the best way to get better. Well, that and maybe soup and ice cream,” she smiled. </p>
<p>“And Animal Crackers,” Robby added, pointing his spoon at her. </p>
<p>“Animal Crackers?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I never heard of their magical healing powers before.”</p>
<p>He chuckled softly, “It’s something my mom used to give me all the time when I wasn’t feeling well. I don’t know why, she just knew I liked them so we would eat Animal Crackers and drink ginger ale and just watch movies all day. I would get to come with her to work some days if I was sick — it was nice. It made me almost wish I could be sick everyday,” he smiled at the memories. </p>
<p>Sam was silent, letting him reflect on the memory uninterrupted. “That sounds really nice. You should have told me before, I could’ve brought Animal Crackers and soda,” she said. </p>
<p>“Actually, my dad went out and got me all of that, so I’m all set. We were watching a movie together too before I fell asleep and then he had to go out,” he explained, and took another bite of the cold ice cream. </p>
<p>Sam thought for a moment. “So is...everything...okay between you two then?” She asked hesitantly. </p>
<p>Robby smiled reassuringly at her. “Yeah, it’s — it’s better. Definitely a lot better,” he started. “I told him I found the letter, and he explained why it never got to me. He um...he told me that he...that he loved me,” he said quietly. </p>
<p>A string pulled at her heart, and Sam realized just how vulnerable Robby really was. He took care of himself for a lot of his life because he had to, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t need validation, or for someone to express his problems to and tell him everything was going to be alright. Having his dad say those words to him meant everything. </p>
<p>“I’m really happy you got to hear that from him. I mean, of course he loves you. You’re his son. But the fact that he was able to say it out loud — that’s huge,” she recognized. </p>
<p>He nodded slowly, “Yeah, it was. And I need to thank you for being there for me the other day at practice. I’m sorry I got mad at you, I had a lot of feelings and I can’t always express them well. But I know you did what you thought was right, and I just want you to know that I don’t blame you for anything. You were right, I just need to let my dad learn how to do both, and hope that he means what he says.” </p>
<p>Sam smiled at him, grateful for the apology. Her instincts drew her closer to him, and before she realized her actions, she found herself pulling him into a hug. Robby willingly accepted it, pulling her smaller form into his own. She breathed in his familiar scent of body wash and deodorant. It immediately transported her back to being in the middle of her kitchen with her face tucked into Robby’s strong chest. He used to always shower before dinner, and she would notice because she could smell his fresh scent from across the table. After her parents and Anthony were all in bed, both of them would sneak back into the kitchen and enjoy their limited time together as a couple. </p>
<p>Being back in Robby’s arms reminded Sam of that wonderful feeling of when they could be together like this. </p>
<p>Robby pulled back first from the embrace. “I uh...don’t want to get you sick,” he told her sheepishly. </p>
<p>“Oh, yeah, that’s a good point,” she nervously agreed. Sam bit her lip, “Did you want to watch a movie together or something? You said that used to make you feel better?”</p>
<p>Robby’s eyes widened momentarily. He ran a hand through his mostly dried hair. “Yeah, if you want to do that we can,” he gulped. “We don’t have a very broad movie collection here. My dad kind of only owns like 2 movies, and they’re not very good. But I did introduce him to Netflix today, so we could probably find something to watch on there.”</p>
<p>“Introduce him? What do you mean, he’s never heard of Netflix before?”</p>
<p>“It’s actually kind of impressive how the man manages to operate a microwave with how little technology he understands. I swear it’s like he’s been hiding under a rock since 1989,” he joked. Robby began to lead Sam toward his room to watch the movie. </p>
<p>As they got closer to Robby’s room, Sam started to feel her heart beating a bit faster in her chest. She had technically been with Robby alone in his room before. They found ways to sneak off to be together while he was living with them, but the threat of a parent walking in was usually enough to keep things PG13. Not to mention, they weren’t together anymore. Sam didn’t know how to feel about going into this uncharted territory. </p>
<p>“Is this your room?” She commented more so than asked as they made their way inside. </p>
<p>Robby noticed her nervous tone. “Oh — uh, I — I’m sorry Sam, is this weird? We don’t have to watch the movie here if it makes you uncomfortable, it’s just that this is where all my stuff is,” he sputtered. </p>
<p>“No, no it’s fine. Don’t worry about it, I don’t mind,” she decided. </p>
<p>“Are you sure?” He asked, not entirely convinced. </p>
<p>“I’m sure, it’s not like we’re going to do anything,” she clarified, immediately kicking herself for her phrasing. <em>We aren’t going to do anything,</em> she reiterated to herself. Robby never made her feel pressured or nervous before, so there was no reason to feel that way now — especially since they weren’t even together. </p>
<p>Robby smirked at her and then moved the items off his bed to make room. They each sat with a fair bit of spacing between them and leaned their backs against his headboard. Robby held his laptop in front of him and sorted through the movies. </p>
<p>Sam couldn’t help but notice the tabs up on his laptop: “How to get your GED on your own” and “Online classes for high school students”</p>
<p>Glancing up at him, Sam felt a hesitancy to ask about his situation. It wasn’t something she was very knowledgeable about, but at the least she wanted him to know she supported him. </p>
<p>She cleared her throat, “Are you...thinking of finishing your education online?” </p>
<p>Robby double glanced at her, “I was looking into it,” he answered frankly. “I don’t really know if it’s worth going through with though,” he trailed off. </p>
<p>Without taking her eyes off the screen she softly continued, “Why is that?”</p>
<p>From the corner of her eye, Sam watched his Adam’s apple bob in his throat as he swallowed. “I...it's a lot of money. I don’t want to waste money on something if it’s never going to amount to anything in the future,” he said. </p>
<p>It made her angry to hear Robby talk so negatively about himself and his future. She wanted to slap him in the head and yell at him for not believing in himself, but decided a gentler approach might be more effective. Turning to look at him, Sam gave Robby a disappointed glare. </p>
<p>“You don’t think you’re worth the investment? Robby, I would place all my money on you succeeding. You’re so much more capable than you give yourself credit for. Stop punishing yourself for your mistakes. You deserve to have the future you want,” she lectured. </p>
<p>Robby didn’t say anything. He continued to stare at his computer screen, biting his lips tightly. For a moment, Sam thought that maybe said something wrong. </p>
<p>Suddenly, Robby let out a shuddered breath. He turned to Sam with a glistening in his eyes, “You’re the only person who’s ever said that to me,” he whispered. </p>
<p>Sam felt her heart break and fill up all at the same time. She hesitantly brought a hand up his face to wipe the tear that trailed down his cheekbone. Upon her touch, Robby closed his eyes and leaned into her hand. </p>
<p>Her eyes searched around his face, marveling at how innocent he looked, and she noticed the dusting of faint freckles across his nose. The open canvas of his face beckoned her to move closer and press her lips to his clear skin. Sam licked her parted lips. Hesitantly, she moved in closer and pressed her lips to the side of Robby’s cheek. </p>
<p>His green eyes fluttered open and locked in with her large blue ones. She didn’t move away, and instead stayed there staring into Robby’s hopeful gaze. He opened and closed his mouth like he was going to say something, but decided against it. Swallowing thickly, Robby quickly shifted his gaze down to her lips and back up. </p>
<p>Without pause, Robby sealed the gap between them both with a kiss. </p>
<p>Their lips met softly at first. The familiarity of each other came back quickly, and the warmth of the feeling kindled a fire in the pit of their stomachs. The fire burning inside of her from Robby’s smooth lips sparked something inside Sam that she felt like she had been missing for the past few months. </p>
<p>Sam moved her hand up to grasp the back of Robby’s head, threading her fingers through his thick hair. The pull of her fingers in his hair jolted him in his core, inviting him to deepen their kiss, pulling on her bottom lip gently. </p>
<p>Their lips moved together in unison, sensing each other’s movements as if they were performing the wheel technique at Miyagi-Do. Parting her lips slightly, Robby’s tongue poked through meeting with her own. </p>
<p>To Sam’s surprise, Robby abruptly pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. “Now you’re definitely going to get sick,” he breathed with a light chuckle. </p>
<p>She grinned, looking up at his face only a mere inches from hers. “I know, but it’s definitely worth it,” she smiled. </p>
<p>They stayed close together grinning at each other for a few moments. Robby pulled away from her face and grabbed her hand that was resting near his lap. “I don’t want to sound impatient, but...do you know whether you’ve made a decision on your feelings for Miguel and I? Because not that I didn’t enjoy that, but I don’t think I could handle it if we kissed like that again only for you to decide you want to be with Miguel,” he said, the hurt clearly evident in his voice. </p>
<p>Sam looked down guiltily understanding the effects her confused feelings have had on both of the boys she cares about. “I know, I’m sorry Robby. I didn’t think I would be so torn for this long, and trust me, it’s not fun for me either. But I think it’s good that I had this time to figure things out because I’m realizing that I don’t want to lose either you or Miguel, and that just because my feelings for you both are different doesn’t make either of them any less strong,” she said. </p>
<p>Robby furrowed his eyebrows, “What are you saying?”</p>
<p>“I’m saying that,” Sam squeezed his hand and smiled up at him, “I want to be with you, Robby. You make me feel like the most important person in the world, and I can’t imagine being near you and not being able to hold your hand if I wanted to or kiss you if I wanted to. Being around you just feels...right.”</p>
<p>Hearing Sam’s words brought flutters to his chest. He tipped his head back and breathed a sigh of relief that the girl in front of him chose him over anyone else she could have in the world. Feeling his joy spread throughout his body with lightning speed, Robby leaned forward and tackled Sam to the bed in a hug. She giggled as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him. He rolled onto his back and brought her on top of his body so that he could see her face clearly. </p>
<p>“So does this mean that you’re my girlfriend again?” He asked cheekily. </p>
<p>She giggled, “Yes, we can be boyfriend and girlfriend again,” she smiled brightly. “But before we officially are together in public, I need to talk to Miguel first. Like I said, it’s important to me that I’m not going to lose either of you just because my feelings are different. Miguel is a really good friend, and I don’t want to hurt him,” she explained. </p>
<p>Robby frowned, “Fine,” he grumbled, earning a small scowl from Sam. “We can wait until you tell him, but I really just want to finally be with you in public without hiding it from anyone. I feel like we deserve that,” he said. </p>
<p>“We do, don’t worry, I’ll make sure I tell him soon because trust me, I want that a lot too.”</p>
<p>They smiled at each other for a moment longer. Robby leaned in to peck her lips before sitting up and pulling the laptop back in front of them. </p>
<p>“Alright, now will you quit distracting me so we can watch a movie? You’re supposed to be taking care of me because I’m sick,” he teased. Sam slapped his arm lightly with a false-appalled look on her face. </p>
<p>Scrolling through the movies on the laptop, one in particular caught Sam’s eye. </p>
<p>“You really like 80s movies don’t you?” He asked when she pointed to Back to the Future on the screen. </p>
<p>“What can I say, I was born in the wrong generation,” she shrugged. </p>
<p>He chuckled and shook his head. “People used to always tell me that I look like the male lead in an 80s or 90s movie. I don’t really know how to take that,” Robby thought aloud. </p>
<p>“You know, now that you mention it, I’m definitely getting 80s heartthrob vibes,” Sam laughed. </p>
<p>Robby blushed. <em>Heartthrob?</em> He thought — he liked the sound of that. </p>
<p>Sam noticed the redness painting the tips of his ears and cheeks. It struck her as adorable that someone who tried to uphold such a tough exterior, would blush at a compliment. She wondered if he knew how handsome he really was. </p>
<p>They started the movie and fell into a comfortable silence together, sitting a little bit closer than before.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And with this 6,000 words, I am going to have to probably take some time away from writing this week. I am moving into finals and the end of the semester so things are getting really busy for me, and I need to make sure I don't procrastinate by writing this story lol. But I'm hopeful that it won't take me away from writing for too long! I love writing this story so I know that I will be itching to get back to it sooner than later.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Natural Born Cobra Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"She looked at the time. It was still early in the morning. Realizing that she needed to talk this out with someone who knows her and her situation probably better than anyone else, she picked up her phone and quickly texted Aisha. </p><p>Hey! I know this is kind of short notice, but any chance you’d be down for me to drive to Topanga and hang out today?"</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm back (...back in the fanfic writing groove...)! For now at least, and I'm optimistic that once finals end I will have a lot more time to write. This is a shorter chapter, comparatively, but it is leading up to some longer and more monumental ones, so just be patient, we will get to more fluffly relationship stuff very soon.</p><p> </p><p>But for now...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sam woke up feeling slightly better than she had the previous day. Sure enough, after her visit at Robby’s she got sick. She didn’t mind though, it was definitely worth it in her opinion. It also gave her a reason to stay home from school the last two days, and while she normally didn’t like missing out on school, she appreciated the break so that she wouldn’t have to face Miguel yet. </p><p>He had been texting her a lot recently, asking if she wanted him to bring her her homework and how she was feeling. It was sweet. But it also broke her heart knowing that sooner than later she’s going to have to break his. </p><p>The last thing she wants is to make him upset. She finally got Miguel back in her life on good terms, it would crush her if this all went away just because she listened to her heart and chose Robby. At the same time, she would understand if Miguel was upset with her and didn’t want to be friends anymore. And even though it would hurt, she would have to accept his choice if that’s how he felt.</p><p>Sam sighed as she sat up in bed. She made her way to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and took a quick shower to try to remove the last gross feelings of sickness from her body. </p><p>When she got out, she checked her phone. To her delight, and dismay, she found two messages from both Robby and Miguel. </p><p><em>Good morning Sam, I’m glad you’re feeling better! I’m also still really sorry I got you sick lol</em> Robby wrote, signing off with a blue heart emoji that made her heart flutter. </p><p><em>Hey Sam, I hope u feel better today. I missed u in school this week! Maybe this video will help u feel a bit better,</em> Miguel texted and he had sent a video of an octopus stealing someone’s food off their plate. </p><p>She laughed watching the video, but couldn’t help the sinking feeling inside her chest, wondering whether she made the right decision moving forward with Robby the other night. Everything felt so clear when she was with him, but now she couldn’t help but question whether she made her decision too soon. </p><p>She looked at the time. It was still early in the morning. Realizing that she needed to talk this out with someone who knows her and her situation probably better than anyone else, she picked up her phone and quickly texted Aisha. </p><p>
  <em>Hey! I know this is kind of short notice, but any chance you’d be down for me to drive to Topanga and hang out today?</em>
</p><p>Sam waited for a response on the edge of her seat. She couldn’t bear to be alone with her confused thoughts for much longer </p><p>Her phone buzzed only a minute later. </p><p>
  <em>Hi!! Yes I would love that so much. I have a lot to tell you :) Do you want to come around 1? I’ll text you my new address</em>
</p><p>Sam smiled gratefully at her friend’s prompt response. Her and Aisha had been texting and calling a lot more frequently than they had over the summer and the year prior. It made her happy to have her friend back after they had been estranged. Oddly enough, Sam actually felt closer to her than she ever had even though Aisha moved away. </p><p>She texted back a quick response and then got ready for her drive to visit her friend. </p><p>-----------------</p><p>Aisha’s new house was only 30 minutes away from San Fernando Valley. The traffic on the weekend was lighter than she expected, so she arrived a little bit earlier than the planned time. </p><p>She took out her phone and sent a text to Aisha to inform her that she was in her driveway. Her house was the same tan shade as the previous one Sam remembered so well. It was strange to think that the place Sam had spent so much time at was now being lived in by another family. </p><p>Hopefully this house could have the same memories. Aisha texted her that the front door was open, and Sam made her way up the stone steps to the large door. </p><p>She entered the threshold and smiled at the photos and decorations she recognized donning the walls. </p><p>“You’re early, I guess you couldn’t wait to see me,” Aisha joked and stood in the middle of the front hallways with her arms crossed. </p><p>Sam looked up surprised by her voice. She was taken out of her thoughts and let herself chuckle once the joke caught up to her. “Oh you have no idea,” she giggled. “It’s funny, everything is the same, but it looks different,” she gestured to a narrow table against the wall that held various picture frames and some flowers. </p><p>Aisha nodded slowly, “Yeah, it took me some time to get used to too. It’s like my old life got packed up and moved into a different world or something,” she shook her head. “But I’m starting to feel like this place is home now,” she sighed. </p><p>Sam smiled sadly. The thought of her best friend finding a home elsewhere made her a little disappointed. It wasn’t like she hoped Aisha would be miserable in this new town, but part of her wished that she would never grow comfortable with the new normal. </p><p>“Well, almost like home. I really miss you...and all of our friends — even Hawk, believe it or not,” she said, noticing Sam’s solemn look.</p><p>“I don’t know what there is to miss about Hawk,” Sam scoffed. Her face softened, “But I miss you too. It’s weird to not have you around at school. I still find myself trying to look for you in the halls sometimes.”</p><p>Aisha laughed, “I actually do that too. I don’t know what it is, but when I go to a new class, I still try to find you to sit next to.”</p><p>Sam cooed, “I do that too!” The girls laughed at each other, missing the way it felt to be in each other’s company. A breath of silence fell over them as the laughter died down. Shuffling her feet across the tile floor, Sam looked up at her friend with a mischievous glint in her eye. “So, speaking of school...are there any cute boys?” She smirked. </p><p>Wide-eyed, Aisha glanced behind her shoulder and peeked into the adjacent room to make sure no one was listening. She grabbed Sam by the wrist and pulled her up the stairs to her bedroom. Sam let out a yelp as she was thrown inside the room and stumbled into the bed. </p><p>Aisha closed the door behind her. “Okay. So,” she released a long breath. “I wanted to tell you this, but I thought it would be better to wait until we met up,” she started. </p><p>Sam’s mouth hung open, and she stared at her friend with utmost interest. “Oh my god, what is it? The suspense is killing me, you have to say it,” she whined. </p><p>“So, remember that kid from the All Valley last year? Xander? He was like the returning champ and he gave that whole speech about injustice or something?”</p><p>Sam raised an eyebrow, “Oh yeah, my dad told me about that. He said the whole thing was really random and weird.”</p><p>“Yeah, so, he’s in my robotics class...and we kind of started talking...and it turns out, he’s not as much of a loser asshole as I originally thought,” she shrugged casually. </p><p>“Oh my god,” Sam grinned. “You totally have a crush,” she gushed. </p><p>Aisha’s mouth opened to say something but hesitated. She cocked her head to the side, “I wouldn’t necessarily call it a crush…”</p><p>Sam wrinkled her eyebrows, “Wait…”</p><p>“...we’ve been dating for like 2 months now,” she peeped. </p><p>“Shut up,” Sam gasped. Her mouth dropped open and she felt complete and utter joy for her friend. “Aisha, that's so great. I’m really happy for you. And I need you to tell me about everything,” she demanded. </p><p>Aisha laughed, “Well there’s not that much to tell yet. I mean we’ve pretty much just been hanging out a lot, and he’s been showing me around Topanga since I’ve gotten here. He said that he remembered me from the tournament and thought it was really cool that I was the only girl who competed. There aren’t any girls in Topanga Karate, so it was intriguing I guess. And then he said when I was also a kickass robotic engineer, he knew I was somehow he had to get to know better. And then, one thing led to another and he asked me on a date and I first said no,” she laughed. “Then I got to know him a little better, and I eventually said yes.”</p><p>Sam giggled, “That’s so sweet. I’m really glad that he appreciates all the badass parts of you. It makes me really happy that you have someone who’s really into you.”</p><p>She sighed blissfully, “Yeah, it is nice isn’t it?” Aisha took a seat on her bed opposite of Sam. “So what about you? I mean, you already have two guys who are really into you. Have you gotten any clarity on that yet?”</p><p>Looking down at her hands, Sam wondered momentarily if her friend was going to be disappointed in her decision. “Um…” she stuttered. “I have, actually,” she answered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. </p><p>Aisha’s eyes widened, “Okay, so, come on, who is it?” </p><p>Sam grinned at her enthusiasm. “You act like my life is a plot line on some teenage drama,” she joked. </p><p>“Well can you blame me? Other than the karate war, this has been at the peak of my interest for the last year,” she laughed. </p><p>Sam rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, well — anyways — I’ve decided that I don’t want to lose either of them,” Sam smiled, contently folding her hands in her lap. </p><p>Aisha’s head jerked to the side, “No you can’t do that, honey,” she deadpanned. </p><p>Sam chuckled lightly, “I don’t mean date them both, I mean that I don’t want being in a relationship with one of them to mean saying goodbye to the other. They are both really important to me.”</p><p>“Oh,” Aisha wrinkled her nose. “I mean, yeah that would be ideal, but I don’t know if that’s for you to decide, Sam. It’s kind of up to Robby or Miguel to figure out.”</p><p>“Which is why...I need your help,” she sighed. “I realized that Miguel and I work really well as friends. He’s someone that I always look forward to talking to and I want to laugh with him and be there for him, and I know that he’ll always be there for me. And with Robby,” Sam paused, “I want to do a lot more than just talk to him…” she trailed off, a mischievous glint in her eye. </p><p>Aisha burst out laughing, “Okay, LaRusso. Down girl.”</p><p>Sam laughed with her friend, “No, but I’m serious. And it’s not just <em>that</em> it’s just this feeling that I get from him. Like we both need to be near each other, and when we’re together everything feels so effortless...but here’s what I need your help with.” Sam shifted her body so she could stare at her friend. “Last time Miguel and I broke up, you were there for him. I don’t want the same thing that happened last time where we don’t talk to each other and we can’t even be in the same room together.”</p><p>“So you want me to walk you through how to let him down easy?” She asked. </p><p>“More or less, I guess what I want to know is — when we broke up the first time, what was it that Miguel was most upset about?”</p><p>Aisha looked up for a moment trying to remember back to last summer. “Well, mostly just the lack of closure of it all. He said that you made it seem like it was all his fault, but then every time he tried to apologize you didn’t want to hear it, and I think that’s what bothered him the most. I think making sure that he knows you aren’t choosing Robby over him because of something he did wrong is important,” Aisha recalled. </p><p>Sam nodded, and she looked away sadly. After their break up last year, she needed some space from him to process everything that happened, and that was why she made the effort to block him out of her life in every aspect she could. It obviously ended up being more harmful than dealing with things head on, but she hadn’t considered how it hurt Miguel too. In her mind, he moved on fairly quickly once Tory came into the picture. </p><p>“Hey, are you alright? I didn’t say something wrong, did I?” Aisha asked. </p><p>“No, you’re fine don’t worry,” Sam offered a small smile. “It’s just...I didn’t realize that Miguel was trying to get closure after we broke up. I thought he was trying to get back together so that’s why I didn’t want to hear him out. Maybe if I didn’t shut him out, we could’ve been friends a lot earlier...and Tory would’ve never come into the picture,” Sam mumbled. She said Tory’s name like it tasted bad on her tongue to speak. </p><p>Aisha bit her lip momentarily, “Look, Sam,” she paused for a moment. “First of all, you had a lot going on last year and you shouldn’t feel bad for wanting space. Just because Miguel wanted closure, doesn’t mean that you had to give it to him if you weren’t ready. And second, there were a lot of things contributing to why it was so difficult for you and Miguel to be friends after your break up — it wasn’t just Tory. Miguel dating Tory was totally independent of you two breaking up,” Aisha lectured. </p><p>“Really? Because it seemed like she did it just to spite me,” Sam raised an eyebrow. </p><p>Aisha sighed, “Tory really liked him, and I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but Miguel really liked her. They helped each other in ways that other people couldn’t. Trust me, I was there for the whole thing.”</p><p>Sam crossed her arms over her chest. Hearing about Tory made her anxious, no matter how many people tried to convince her otherwise. </p><p>“I’m sorry, I’m not trying to make you like her or anything, I don’t even think I forgive her after what happened at school, but I also don’t think it’s healthy for your relationship with Miguel or Robby to hold onto that anger toward her,” Aisha said sympathetically. </p><p>Sam uncrossed her arms and sighed, “I know you’re right.” Her blue eyes shimmered with tears building in the corners, “I don’t want him to get hurt again — and I don’t want to get hurt again. I’m afraid that she’ll come back and ruin everything once the door is open to be with Miguel,” Sam whispered. Her head was tucked into her chest making her voice almost inaudible. </p><p>Aisha nodded in understanding. She reached forward and placed a hand on her friend’s hand to stop her from rubbing at her forearm. “I know that you’re worried about all these events repeating themselves, but you didn’t cause any of the events in the school fight to happen. People made their own choices. So you choosing to be with Robby won’t drive Miguel back to Tory and if Miguel does want to be with Tory, then that’s his decision to make. All you can control is making sure that you follow your heart and make the effort to be there for Miguel,” Aisha comforted. </p><p>Sam looked up to meet her friend’s eyes and smiled more fully at her. “You’re a really good friend, you know that?” She sniffled. </p><p>Aisha laughed, “You are too.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading and reviewing! It keeps my muses inspired</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Love Is a Battlefield</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>First practice since Sam and Robby have got back together and they struggle to keep their relationship hidden. Meanwhile, some unexpected guests show up at the dojo and Daniel is forced to make a deal with the devil.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Finals are done!!! (Woohoo!) So I am back with this nice and long chapter :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was an extra hot day in the Valley. As the stretches of cooler and windy weeks passed, the 80 degree weather and sun felt hot again. </p>
<p>The Miyagi-Do students arrived in various clusters of groups in the backyard and prepared for their training. The beads of sweat were already forming on their foreheads from just the light stretches they were doing to warm up. </p>
<p>Sam got up from her place on the grass and headed toward the deck where she kept her water. She lingered near the doorway, reaching down for her water bottle, when a hand circled around her wrist pulling her inside the dojo. </p>
<p>She gasped and whipped around at her assailant with her arms up at the ready. The light chuckle that filled her ears let her know who she was in the company with before she fully turned around. </p>
<p>“I come in peace,” Robby joked with his arms up in mock-surrender. </p>
<p>Sam huffed, “You scared me, I thought you were like, a kidnapper or something.”</p>
<p>Robby pursed his lips and took a step forward, rubbing his thumbs along her forearms for comfort. “I’m sorry, I was just trying to get you in here without drawing a lot of attention,” he paused and lifted an eyebrow, “Which now that I think about it, sounds like a kidnapper-y thing to do.”</p>
<p>Sam laughed and shook her head, “A simple ‘hey Sam’ would’ve been just fine.” She took a step closer to him as his hands moved to loop around her waist. Most of the tension in her shoulders from her previous fright left her body upon his touch. </p>
<p>He dropped his head with a bashful smile on his face. “Well since we can’t officially be together with anyone else around, I didn’t want to risk messing up my only opportunity to do this,” he leaned down and softly pressed his lips to hers in a soundless kiss. Sam felt herself melt into his kiss, bringing her hand up to cup his cheek. Robby pulled her waist closer into him, missing the way it felt to be together this way. </p>
<p>Reluctantly, Robby broke the kiss. He sighed out through his nose at the loss of contact between them. Sam dropped her head onto his shoulder where she nuzzled her nose into his shirt, breathing in the fresh scent of his body wash and deodorant. She brought her face up to meet his eyes, and she couldn’t help the cheesy smile that broke out across her face from seeing the dopey gaze Robby was giving her. </p>
<p>“Thanks for kidnapping me,” she giggled. </p>
<p>Robby smirked and shook his head lightly, “For you? Anytime,” he joked. </p>
<p>The two made their way outside through the doors of the dojo together. The urge to grab ahold of Sam’s hand was too tempting for Robby, and he had to shove both his hands into pockets as a precaution. </p>
<p>Sam didn’t miss the careful glances that Miguel was sending her and Robby from across the yard. She met his eyes and gave him a reassuring smile. With hesitation, Miguel smiled back and made his way over to her. </p>
<p>As Miguel approached them, she could sense Robby stiffen up beside her. Sam wanted to reach out and give him some comfort in the moment, but because of the amount of eyes all around, she knew it wouldn’t be a good idea. </p>
<p>“Hey Sam,” Miguel waved as he came to stand in front of her. “I’m glad you seem to be feeling a lot better,” he acknowledged. For a millisecond Miguel’s eyes shifted toward Robby, who was staring at the ground trying to keep himself calm. </p>
<p>“Yeah, I am, the days off definitely helped. Thank you again, by the way, for sending me the homework assignments in our classes together. I was able to stay caught up, like I didn’t miss any days at all,” she smiled. </p>
<p>“That’s good, and if you need any help and want to go over the notes for chemistry together, let me know...I’d be happy to help,” Miguel said breezily, taking another glance in Robby’s direction. </p>
<p>Robby’s head snapped up to glare at Miguel for his not-so-subtle offer. He shifted uncomfortably between his feet, feeling an urge to wrap his arm around his girlfriend to ward Miguel off from flirting with her ever again — but he knew that Miguel was trying to get a rise out of him. </p>
<p>Whether he genuinely wanted to help or not, the way he kept sending glares over to Robby let him know that there was more behind his words. Robby took a deep inhale and let it out through his mouth slowly. He forced a smile on his face and looked up to lock his eyes on Miguel’s. </p>
<p>Standing between the two boys, Sam rolled her eyes at the staring contest she seemed to find herself in the middle of. “Thanks, Miguel. I’ll let you know if I need anything else,” she nodded at him, and gave one more pointed look to Robby before walking out of the make-shift arena to go stand with another group of students. </p>
<p>The boys’ heads followed her with disappointed stares as she walked away. The tension between them became even thicker after Sam had left; neither one knew where to look or what to do with their tightly clenched fists. </p>
<p>The silence was deafening. It heightened the awkwardness between the two boys, and made them both wish to vanish into thin air in order to escape this standoff. Miguel gulped, “...Your dad was looking for you by the way,” he said with hesitation filling the silence. “You weren’t around when we left for practice this morning, and he wasn’t sure where you went.” </p>
<p>Robby’s forehead wrinkled and the glare in his piercing green eyes deepened, “Thanks for the message,” he replied coldly. </p>
<p>Miguel scoffed and rolled his eyes with frustration. “I’m just letting you know. He was worried something happened to you — you shouldn’t leave without telling someone where you’re going,” Miguel stressed. </p>
<p>Robby crossed his arms over his chest, “What are you his secretary now too?” He quipped. “I don’t need you to be the communicator between my dad and I — he can tell me himself.”</p>
<p>“Fine, whatever, I’m just trying to help,” Miguel mumbled exasperated. </p>
<p>“Yeah, just like you were trying to help Sam with her homework by asking her on a date two minutes ago,” Robby scoffed under his breath. </p>
<p>“What?” Miguel spoke up, taking a step closer to Robby. </p>
<p>Robby’s eyes fixed on his steadily, “Don’t play innocent, I know you were trying to ask her out,” he threw back. </p>
<p>Miguel smirked, “And what if I am? Last time I checked, you guys aren’t together anymore. She’s free to do as she wants.”</p>
<p>Robby bit down hard on his tongue to the point of tasting blood. He tried to hold himself back from telling Miguel that Sam chose to be with him out of respect for Sam's wishes, even though it caused his insides to boil with fury. </p>
<p>He closed his eyes momentarily, “You’re right. She can do what she wants,” he said simply, trying to ignore the grin on Miguel’s face. </p>
<p>The commotion on the other side of the dojo pulled their attention away from each other. </p>
<p>Coming through the gates were Mitch and Bert, sparking a few turning heads and weary glances from Miyagi-Do students. </p>
<p>As if on cue, Nate took quick steps over to where his enemies stood and puffed out his chest, straining his neck to look them both in the eye. “Did you come here to mess the place up again?” He challenged. </p>
<p>“Hey, step off, runt,” Mitch defended, coming in between Bert and the other small male. </p>
<p>“Don’t call him a runt, Penis Breath,” Chris challenged, hurriedly walking into the scene. </p>
<p>“It’s Assface, come on man,” Mitch whined.</p>
<p>“QUIET,” Johnny yelled and effectively shut everyone up. The original Miyagi-Do students flinched, still not used to Johnny’s intimidation methods. “God, you’re all a bunch of whiny babies.” He ran a hand through his sweaty hair and fixed his head wrap. “Assface, Bert, what are you guys doing here? Did Kreese send you?”</p>
<p>With their voices caught in their throats, Mitch and Bert shared a nervous glance. They were expecting this transition to go a bit smoother — perhaps that was naive. </p>
<p>“They left Cobra Kai, Sensei,” Miguel spoke up. He made his way over to stand by his friends’ sides. “They don’t want to be a part of Kreese’s Cobra Kai anymore, and I told them they could join us at Miyagi-Do,” he stated confidently. </p>
<p>Daniel looked wearily at Johnny for a moment, silently asking him whether they could trust them. </p>
<p>Johnny eyed Miguel and the tall boy didn’t back down. He held his stance beside his friends, eyes glimmering with determination. With a small nod, Johnny uncrossed his arms and switched his attention to the cowering new students before him. “Is that true? You guys don’t want to be a part of Cobra Kai anymore?”</p>
<p>Bert shuffled his foot awkwardly, “It's not the same. Kreese is acting like he’s preparing us for war and trying to turn us all on each other. I made all my friends from Cobra Kai, I don’t want to lose them all just because of some karate war,” the small boy squeaked. </p>
<p>Nate softened his threatening stare toward his enemy and found himself relating in some way. As much as he wanted to hold onto the grudge against his ex-best friend, it did suck to limit the already small group of people he could rely on. </p>
<p>“Well, as long as you are willing to change and unlearn some things, then our door is always open,” Daniel pipped in. “Come on in, Bert and...uh...,” Daniel stuttered looking at Mitch.</p>
<p>“Um...my real name is Mitch,” he ducked his head away from Daniel’s stare. </p>
<p>“Mitch...okay, you’re gonna go by Mitch here,” Daniel laughed and clapped him on the back. </p>
<p>Through the fence enclosing the backyard, a familiar red, spiking do poked out just above the top of the wooden planks. It caught the attention of Demetri who broke the tender moment in the dojo to alert the intruder that he’d been caught. “Hey, Eli! I see you out there,” he called stepping toward the gate ready to rip it open. “Did you come here to spy on us or did your heart finally grow back to its — “ the door flung open, almost knocking Demetri off his feet. </p>
<p>Directly in front of him was the steel, cold stare of John Kreese, who was fiercely gripping onto the wing of a shaken up and obviously petrified Hawk. “...normal...size,” Demetri finished, barely audible. His eyes grew larger by the second and he retreated with steady steps backward. </p>
<p>As Kreese walked in dragging Hawk with him, gradually the rest of his quiver of students began to fan out behind him. Tory took her place in the front just behind Kreese. She crossed her arms and scowled at the group in front of her. Her eyes scanned the dojo a few times, unconsciously looking for Miguel even though she wasn’t sure whether she really would want to see him there or not. </p>
<p>“Demetri, get back here,” Sam yelled, quickly coming to his side in order to pull him away from the entrance protectively. Bert, Mitch, and Miguel moved out of the way from the entrance as well, naturally falling into the sea of students as if they belonged there. </p>
<p>“What the hell are you doing here?” Johnny growled under his breath. He marched in front of his students to add a barrier in between them and the Sensei emeritus. </p>
<p>“My apologies for the interruption, but I couldn’t let another moment go knowing what you two have been up to,” Kreese spoke, his voice laced with sarcasm.  </p>
<p>“What the hell do you want, Kreese,” Daniel cursed with a fire igniting in his eyes. </p>
<p>Kreese shrugged his shoulders. He peered down at Hawk who was uncomfortably stirring under his hold, “A little birdie told me that you two are in business together. Never thought I’d see the day.” Hawk looked down at his feet with guilt-stricken eyes and a wobbly lip. He couldn’t face the disappointed glares likely coming from his old Sensei and friends. “I was even more surprised, when one of my own students tried to recruit for you, out of my dojo. Isn’t that right, Hawk?” Kreese intensified his grip on his arm, causing the boy’s face to contort with pain. </p>
<p>“You’re hurting him,” Demetri whimpered, struggling against Sam’s hold. </p>
<p>“That’s enough, Kreese,” Johnny boomed. “Let the kid go,” Johnny took two steps forward ready to sever Kreese’s hold from Hawk’s arm himself if he had to. </p>
<p>“Fair enough,” Kreese dropped his hold on Hawk, letting the struggling boy fall to the ground. Hawk scrambled on the ground away from Kreese and the other Senseis before him. He wrapped his arms around his knees with his head down, momentarily forgetting his badass persona and conforming back to Eli. </p>
<p>Staring at the shaken up boy brought an ounce of bitter nostalgia to Johnny. He saw himself in Hawk in more ways than he wanted to admit — the hard exterior to mask the emotional mess that’s on the inside, the bursts of anger that come from not knowing how to deal with those emotions — to name a few. And the worst part is, he had a hand in making him into this cowering ball of destruction. </p>
<p>“Get off my property or I’ll call the police, Kreese, I’m serious,” Daniel fuemed. </p>
<p>Kreese tasked, “Now don’t be hasty, Daniel-san. Seems like you need another lesson on controlling your anger.” Daniel clenched his fists at the nickname. He could barely hear what Kreese was saying over the blaring ringing in his ears from his anger. “I don’t want any trouble,” he smirked. “But you didn’t think I would let you off easy when you send your student to steal my own,” Kreese’s eyes drifted over to Miguel’s in a chilling squint. </p>
<p>Johnny reacted, stepping up closer to Kreese to block off his view of the students. “You’re one to talk about stealing students with the way you stole my dojo,” Johnny hissed. </p>
<p>“All is fair in war,” Kreese shrugged, he cracked his knuckles one by one while looking Johnny in the eyes. </p>
<p>“You’re the only one that wanted a war Kreese,” Daniel accused. “Why don’t you just give up now and go back to the hole you came out of.”</p>
<p>Kreese let out a slow, unnerving chuckle. He took slow steps to stand directly in front of Daniel and stuck out a finger to poke him in the chest. Daniel didn’t back down from his stance and swatted at the finger that tried to intimidate him. </p>
<p>“...Dad…” Sam uttered nervously. Robby unconsciously gripped her hand in his to give her some comfort, as well as to make sure that she didn’t try to get in between whatever was about to surmount between her dad and the psychopath they let in, for his own ease of mind. Miguel had glanced back to check on Sam’s state and watched the action between the two with his own eyes. He felt his heart thud when Sam seemed to soften at Robby’s touch and not pull away. Something about the action seemed natural for her — a little too natural if you asked him. </p>
<p>“Fine,” Kreese shrugged. “If you’re finally going to join the war, then we’re going to need a battle. The All Valley. If I win, then Cobra Kai remains the only dojo in the west valley. If you win,” he paused for effect, licking his chops, “Then I’ll surrender.”</p>
<p>“One condition,” Daniel stated without hesitation. “For the remaining time until the All Valley, your students have to leave ours alone.” Daniel felt chills run down his body. He could still remember vividly the image of his hero negotiating for his safety with the evil villain in front of him within the unsacred walls of Cobra Kai. It pissed him off that his Mr. Miyagi wasn’t here, but this cruel man was. When he spoke those words, however, he could almost feel Mr. Miyagi there — he was within him. Where he always would stay. </p>
<p>Kreese held his grimace. The remembrance of the moment wasn’t lost on him. “Deal.” He uttered. He stayed put, staring at Daniel for a moment longer, then gave one glance to Johnny before turning around and walking out of the gate. </p>
<p>His group of students started to follow him, leaving threatening glares to the Miyagi-Dos on their way out. Tory hung around for a moment longer. She marched up to where Hawk was balled up on the ground clutching his knees to his chest. </p>
<p>“Come on, Hawk. We’re leaving,” she ordered. </p>
<p>It might have been that he was so disappointed in himself that anyone showing him attention was exciting, or maybe he thought he had been kicked out of Cobra Kai so having Tory offer him another chance was a relief, but Hawk’s eyes filled up with hope at the offer. He jumped up upon the command and scrambled to wipe the tears from his face and follow behind the leading cobra. </p>
<p>“Hawk,” Johnny called. Both Hawk and Tory turned around. Tory looked peeved and uncomfortable at having to be subject to the stares of the Miyagi-Do students for longer than she already had to. </p>
<p>“If you want to be in Miyagi-Do, you can,” Johnny said, making a few students look up in protest. “You don’t have to go back to Cobra Kai. I know you’re scared, man. I was scared too. But Kreese doesn’t care about you...I do. And your friends here do too. So what do you say?”</p>
<p>Hawk looked up at Tory’s pissed off face snarling at Johnny. She looked back at Hawk and pleaded with him not to leave. Hawk could remember when he saw the flicker of her vulnerability shine through her eyes, if only for a second. The vulnerability was back. It came and went so quickly that if Hawk hadn’t looked up in time he would’ve missed it. The thought of leaving her to fight on her own left an unsettling feeling in his gut. </p>
<p>But Johnny had a point. And the thought of returning to Cobra Kai only to get beat up and ridiculed left a different, a much more frightening feeling in his stomach. </p>
<p>And did Johnny just say he cared about him? Hawk looked up to see the eyes of his first Sensei. Johnny was hopelessly hanging onto the connection between them that might have a chance to pull him back in. Hawk took the bait. </p>
<p>He looked up at Tory. “I’m sorry…” Hawk swallowed. As if moving through water, he crossed over to the other side and made his way to stand by the other students, keeping his distance of course. Johnny clapped him on the back as he passed by, happy to have his student back. </p>
<p>“Traitor,” Tory bellowed. She shook her head at him, squinting her eyes and crossing her arms. Hawk couldn’t convince himself to look back at her. He kept his head down staring at his shoes and wondering if he made the right decision. </p>
<p>Tory was just about to leave when Miguel spoke up, “Wait, Tory.” She paused in her tracks reluctantly, but she didn’t turn around. If Miguel saw the way his voice softened her features and made her want to cry then she wouldn’t be able to uphold her ‘I’m over it’ persona. “Tory you don’t have to go back to Cobra Kai either. Kreese doesn’t care about you like you think he does. He isn’t helping you, he’s just using you to help himself. You don’t have to go back there,” Miguel pleaded. </p>
<p>Sam’s body tensed and she looked at Miguel with concern. <em>If Tory left Cobra Kai would she come back here?</em> She wondered. Hawk was already a challenge, but Tory? Sam couldn’t imagine that going well for her. </p>
<p>Tory let Miguel’s words wash over her a few times, and she wished that what he said was true. And maybe it was true, but she knew that Kreese was all she had right now. He was her only hope at winning in life. Even if his methods aren’t sustainable, he’s the only one that cares enough to try for her. If she left Cobra Kai, there would be no one to look out for her. </p>
<p>With one last shake of her head, Tory marched off through the gate of Miyagi-Do. </p>
<p>A tense silence hung around the backyard with no one really knowing what to say. </p>
<p>Daniel looked around at their slightly larger group of students. This was definitely a sign of improvement. Although, he didn’t feel at ease yet. He could only hope that Kreese would take their deal seriously and not send any of his students to attack his own...but that would be assuming that Kreese was trustworthy, which he is not. If he wanted to lessen his worries, then he would have to defeat Cobra Kai once and for all, and that was only going to happen if he and Johnny intensified their training. </p>
<p>“Alright everybody, listen up,” Daniel called to the group. The unenthusiastic bunch barely lifted their eyes to acknowledge him. Daniel sighed and he glanced at Johnny with his hopeless expression. “I know, guys, that — that wasn’t at all what we expected,” he rubbed his hand over his face. “We can’t let this get to us. The All Valley is a lot sooner than we think, and now it’s more important than ever that we pull together as a team. Put whatever happened in the past behind you. You’re all working toward the same goal now.”</p>
<p>Johnny nodded his head and crossed his arms, “That’s right. No whining or arguing with each other like pussies. Cobra Kai will use any weakness they can get at against you, don’t make it easy for them,” he warned. “We’re going to have to push you guys harder than we have before if we want to win this fight,” he shouted.</p>
<p>For the rest of practice, Daniel and Johnny led their students through drills, and they followed along doing the motions, but it was obvious that there was a hum of discontent in the air. </p>
<p>Sam made sure to keep one eye on Demetri and one on Hawk throughout the entire practice. Maybe she was being overprotective but she didn’t trust Hawk yet. It was definitely better to have him on their side instead of the other, but he was a loose canon. After the way he had been treating Demetri at school she wasn’t willing to let any of his bullying slide. </p>
<p>Sam noticed that she wasn’t the only student on edge about the new recruits. Mitch, Bert, Chris, and Nate all seemed to have the same skeptical attitudes toward each other. Not to mention, Robby and Miguel haven’t been able to stop sending each other threatening glares since the start of practice. Despite their senseis’ speeches, there was still work to do. </p>
<p>Practice ended anti-climatically, and they all shared a sigh of relief at being able to leave the tense atmosphere of the dojo. Sam made her way over to the sanded deck to gather her things, and she felt a hand on her shoulder. </p>
<p>Turning her head, her eyes widened when she saw Miguel standing there beside her with his hands rubbing together and rocking back on his heels. </p>
<p>“Hey,” Sam smiled, turning to fully face him. </p>
<p>Miguel gave her a right smile back, “Hey, can we talk? Like...just us?” He asked looking over to the remaining students lingering around the backyard and waiting for their rides to pick them up. </p>
<p>Sam looked over to where Robby was in a conversation with her dad and Johnny before meeting Miguel’s eyes again. “Yeah sure, let’s go in here,” she led him into the indoor dojo and took a seat on one of the benches in the corner. </p>
<p>Her eyes followed him with uncertainty as he made his way to sit next to her. “That was a pretty intense practice, right,” she attempted to break the uncomfortable silence between them. </p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah it was. I’m glad that we got three of Cobra Kai’s students out of it though,” he returned staring at his feet. </p>
<p>“Yeah, that was the goal, right?” Sam chuckled lightly. Another moment of harsh silence drifted over them. Sam swallowed and tried to figure out why Miguel maybe wanted to speak to her alone. </p>
<p>Miguel shifted slightly in his seat, coming to partially face her. “So...what’s going on with you and Robby?” He asked. Sam felt her shoulders tense up to her ears and she sucked in a deep breath. “I realized that, we talked a lot about what happened between us, and we talked about Tory and I, but we never talked about where you’re at with Robby. Sometimes I look at you too and it’s like you’re still together. But then, I remember how it is when we’re together, and how you asked me stuff about being with Tory, and I don’t know, Sam. I’m just confused right now,” he said. </p>
<p>Sam bit her lip and looked down, struggling to meet his eyes. She didn’t blame him for being confused — she was confused herself until maybe a week ago. It’s no wonder that her wishy-washy mindset rubbed off on him. Sam let out a sharp breath and pulled her head up to look at him. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ears and offered him a shy smile. “I’m sorry, Miguel. I didn’t want to confuse you, I was confused myself, for like the entire year so far, and it just took me now to understand where my feelings are at,” she sighed. </p>
<p>He wrinkled his forehead not quite understanding where this could be going. </p>
<p>“I — after we kissed at Moon’s party, a lot of my feelings for you resurfaced and it made me feel like a terrible person for liking you and liking Robby at the same time. But I couldn’t help it, that’s what I felt. And then when everything happened that next day, things just became so much more complicated. I almost lost you for good, and I didn’t want to imagine how horrible that would be. And Robby ran away and then he was in the detention center — it was like there was no easy way of solving this. I had to just sit with my confused feelings because there were more important things that were happening,” Sam took a long inhale realizing that she hadn’t been breathing. Miguel was listening patiently to her unravel this story. His face remained stoic and she couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. </p>
<p>“So finally, once we got to talking again, I realized how good it felt to be with you. We spent so much time being mad at each other last year, once things were cleared up it felt so natural and healthy. I didn’t want to mess things up again,” she sighed. Miguel nodded ever so slightly at her words, she could tell that he felt the same way. It hurt her to know that. Because she feared that if she broke his heart, then things wouldn’t be the same between them. “When Robby came home, we talked and I explained to him how I was confused and we decided to break up. So all of my interactions with you, Miguel were all real. I wasn’t trying to lead you on or anything like that, I really was just working through my feelings. And I think I finally got clarity — and it wasn’t anything you did — it was just that I realized how even when we were dating, we didn’t even call it that,” she chuckled lightly remembering. “We functioned so easily when there was no pressure of what we were supposed to be. And as soon as that pressure started to come from my dad, your Sensei, other people, we cracked. I don’t really know what we would be like together in a relationship. But I know that having you as my friend is something that I never want to lose.”</p>
<p>Miguel broke his gaze with Sam to look down at his hands again. He could feel the hole of disappointment expanding in his chest, and he couldn’t do anything about it. He knew she was following her heart, and that’s why this hurt even more. Whatever she felt for him, it apparently wasn’t the same as he felt for her. “So,” he cleared his raspy throat, “You’re with Robby now?” He asked, remembering all the signs of them off talking alone and the not-so-subtle hand holding earlier. </p>
<p>Sam opened her mouth and closed it again. Her right hand flew up to rub at her shoulder awkwardly. “Yeah,” she answered quietly, scratching her nose. “Since last Wednesday. I didn’t expect it, it just felt right. But I don’t want this to change anything between us. I care about you a lot, and I don’t want to go back to not being able to speak to each other.”</p>
<p>Miguel scoffed and threw his head back, smiling malhumorously at her words. “Well of course it’s going to change stuff between us, Sam. Robby and I aren’t on good terms. Because of him I had to spend the last six months trying to learn to walk again, and he’s pissed at me for god knows why,” Miguel burst. He rubbed at his eyes with the palms of his hands. “I — I don’t know what you want to happen between us now, but it’s not going to be easy when you’re with him.”</p>
<p>Sam dropped her head to stare at her hands that were mindlessly ringing together. She expected him to respond like this. Only in her best case scenario would he be totally cool with her telling him that she and Robby are dating now and they have to just be friends. She was hoping that he would be a little more understanding of her feelings though. </p>
<p>She shook her head, “I know. Trust me, I get it,” she stressed looking up at him. “If roles were reversed and you were telling me that you were with Tory now, I would be pissed too. And I’m not going to try and convince you to like Robby, I know that that’s not fair, and even though I think you guys probably have more in common than you realize, I know that there’s a lot of bad history that makes it difficult. So I’m not asking you to get along with him, but I don’t want you to think I’m choosing him over you. Because I’m not. I’m choosing us. I want us to be friends. I don’t want anything to come between us anymore,” she pleaded, scanning both of his eyes to see how he is feeling. </p>
<p>Sighing out, Miguel let himself meet her eyes and felt his heart open once he locked onto her blue seas of sorrow. He cocked his head to the side and held her gaze for just a moment longer. “Okay. I trust you. I’m going to need some time to just get used to it all, but...if you say you want us to stay close then I’ll try my best to make sure it happens,” he stated, his voice low. </p>
<p>Sam’s face lit up ever so slightly. “So we’re okay then?” She asked timidly. </p>
<p>He sniffed a light laugh, “Yeah,” Miguel answered smiling. “We’ll always be okay,” he said and nudged her with his shoulder gently.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you enjoyed the circus!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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